


Forever and Always

by starrnobella



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff and Smut, Gen, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Storybrooke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-23 23:47:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 112,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7484691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrnobella/pseuds/starrnobella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Picking up where the Season 5 finale left off, Emma and Hook have begun to rekindle their romance that has been placed on the back-burner while dealing with the craziness that is their lives. This story has snippets of a variety of ships, but the main is Captain Swan and their life together. Rated M for future chapters. Please review for me!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: This is my first attempt at a Fan-Fiction, so please review for me so I know how I'm doing! My Facebook fan-page is starrnobellafanfiction so please search for it and check it out! I will be using it post updates!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, they are property of Adam and Eddie, the wonderful producers.
> 
> Please enjoy!  
> 

  
"I love you, Killian," Emma said.

Killian looked at her and smiled, "I love you too, Emma." As he said this, he took her into his arms and kissed her. Mid-kiss he picked her up squeezing her tightly. For the first time in months, no one was threatening their lives or their happiness. It was just the two of them together for all time.

In the last few months, Killian and Emma had endured more pain and suffering than most people deal with in their entire life. It was time for the two of them to take advantage of the peace and just be.

After breaking their embrace, they walked hand in hand into Granny's. Everyone was already there listening to Regina explain her conversation with Mr. Hyde.

"Somehow Gold convinced him that he had the rights to Storybrooke and now Mr. Hyde thinks he is in charge of the town," Regina explained as Emma and Killian walked in.

"How is that even possible? I thought there wasn't an official leader of Storybrooke, just the mayor and the sheriffs..." Snow asked.

"The only thing I can figure is that Gold assumes that since it was his curse that created Storybrooke in the first place that he is the official leader," Regina stated.

Emma and Killian looked at each other and sighed simultaneously. Both thinking the same thing. So much for the peace.

"I thought for once, we would get a break," Killian said with a sigh, "with the crocodile gone, I thought we stood a chance at just being together." Killian kissed Emma's cheek. Emma nodded in agreement as she touched her head to Killian's with a sigh.

"So what are we going to do?" Emma asked, causing everyone to turn around and look at Emma and Killian standing behind them.

"When did you get here?" Regina and Snow said in unison.

"Just in time to hear the end of your conversation," Emma responded with a shrug.

"I have no idea. I am not even sure where Hyde disappeared to after I talked to him. All he said was that he brought friends from the Land of Untold stories along and that we were in for a war," Regina responded with a defeated look upon her face.

"Well, since for right now we don't know where Hyde is and no one seems to be stirring up any trouble, let's just take some time to enjoy the peace," Snow added squeezing Charming's hand and smiling at her family.

"It's hard to be a family when your loved one doesn't exist," Regina scoffed and crossed her arms.

"We are your family, Mom. All of us here together being supportive of everyone," Henry spoke up reaching his hand up to touch Regina's arm to comfort her. "We can look in the books in the library and see if there is any way that we could bring Robin back, just like we found a way to rescue Hook. We have to have hope that there is a way."

Henry stood up give her a hug. "We can do this together, Mom."

Regina squeezed Henry back. "I will try to have hope, Henry. And thank you for reminding me that I do have a family. A family who cared enough to help rid me of the Evil Queen so that I can start over."

"We do anything for family," Snow said as she stood up and gave Regina a hug. Snow looked to Emma, "We follow them anywhere when their happiness is on the line."

Snow smiled at Emma as she looked at her and Killian standing closely together with Killian's arm wrapped around her daughter's waist.

"Since we can't do anything now, why don't we all go home and relax?" Emma said.

"Aye, love. Let's go home," Killian responded with a smile as he kissed Emma's forehead.

Everyone else nodded in agreement. So the family, dysfunctional as they are, decided to leave Granny's and go home. Charming and Snow went back to their loft after picking up Baby Neal from Blue. Henry went home with Regina so that she did not have to be alone, and since no one had seen Zelena since they got back to Storybrooke Henry didn't want to his mother to sit at home by herself. All that was left was Emma and Killian. For the first time since Emma found out that Killian had been house shopping for the two of them, they headed home together to their own home.

As they approached the house, Emma squeezed Killian's hand. When Killian looked at her, she smiled. She gave him the same lovey dovey eyes that Regina always told her that the two shared and Emma would deny. For the first time in a very long time, Emma was truly happy.

"Wait, love," Killian said before Emma opened the door placing his hand on her shoulder.

"What is it, Killian?" she asked softly.

Killian kissed her deeply, just like he did when they arrived back in Storybrooke. "I am so happy to be home, love," he said as he broke the kiss with that special sparkle in his eyes that he only had with her.

"We have to go inside to be home, Killian," Emma chuckled as she kissed him one more time before opening the door to their home. Killian laughed as he followed her inside.

The house looked identical to what it looked like when they spent time in the Underbrooke version of the house. However, the biggest difference was that everything was not as dreary as it had been in the Underbrooke version. Also an additional big difference between the house in Storybrooke and the house in Underbrooke was that there was no crib in the living room with Emma's mobile hanging over head.

The pair walked into the living room and sat down on the couch where only weeks earlier in Underbrooke they sat as Emma healed Killian's wounds from the abuse he was put through at the hands of Hades.

"It's weird being here," Emma said quietly.

"Aye, love," Killian responded as he reached around Emma to hold her close as they sat on the couch.

"Do you want to watch something on Netflix?" Emma asked jokingly as she reached for the remote to the television.

"I don't know what the bloody hell Netflix is, but if it means I get to spend time with you, then the answer is yes."

Emma just laughed as she leaned in closer to Killian to give him a kiss. After doing so, she selected a movie to watch for the rest of their evening in their home. Her selection was "The Princess Bride," Emma's favorite movie.

As the movie played on, the two cuddle up close just to live in the moment of rare peacefulness that they so often had to miss out on due to the craziness of their lives. However sometime before the movie had ended, they fell asleep on the couch just like a normal exhausted couple after a long day of work.

They woke up the next morning to the sun shining brightly in the window that they had forgotten to cover with the blinds the night before. Killian reached his arms out to stretch as Emma sat up.

"Did we fall asleep here?" he asked sleepily.

"Apparently," she laughed. "You know though this doesn't count as a second date, which we haven't been on yet by the way." Emma stated as she playfully punched Killian's shoulder.

"Well, love," Killian said as he kissed her forehead, "we aren't exactly the most normal couple. Normal couples don't have to deal with being the Dark One and going to the Underworld to rescue the other."

"I know, but for the first time in a long time we can act like a normal couple...who just so happen to live together after one date."

Both Emma and Killian laughed together. There was a genuine sense of happiness topped with a smile upon both of their faces. They knew that there was no denying the love between them was true. They also knew that the events of their pasts led them to where they were in this current moment. They spent the next few hours just talking to each other discussing everything that has gone on in the last few months.

A little while later, the couple realized that they hadn't eaten yet and it was well into the morning, almost afternoon. So they went into the kitchen to search for something to eat when they realized that there was nothing there since no one had been truly living here for the last few months. They decided it was time to head out and actually start their day after a stop at Granny's for some breakfast.

Upon arriving at Granny's, Killian and Emma walked in and found a booth to sit at. Granny came over to get their order for breakfast and to chit chat for a little while. While they were sitting there, Henry came in the door.

"Hey kid," Emma called to him. "Want to join us?"

"Hey Mom. Hey Hook," Henry said as he sat down beside Emma.

"So I hear you had your first kiss," Killian said as he nudged Henry's hand with his hook.

Henry's face reddened as he spoke to Emma, "You told him!?"

Emma just laughed and nodded. It was a new sensation to be the mother of a teenager. She was learning what it was like to watch Henry have his first crush, who is now his first girlfriend. She was excited and nervous all at the same time. She was still learning the ropes around her new relationship as well as learning the ropes of being the mother to a teenager. But all the same, she was enjoying herself.

"Of course she told me. It was the only exciting thing that happened yesterday," Killian said jokingly as he smiled looking from Henry to Emma. After the craziness of the last few months, it was easy to say that Henry's first kiss was something exciting. He wanted to make sure that he was a part of Henry's life for the long haul. He knew that this was the family he needed. With Liam having passed on, he needed someone to keep him grounded. Emma and Henry were just the people he needed to help keep him grounded.

"It was just a quick kiss. Nothing more. I haven't really talked to her since it happened," Henry responded. Emma noticed something in his eyes as he said it that told her otherwise, but she smiled to herself. Seeing so much of her own personality in him was something that brought her great joy. At the same time, seeing so much of Neal in him brought her joy as well.

"Well, she's a lucky girl," Emma said as she wrapped her arm around her son. She smiled at Henry and then looked to Killian and smiled even bigger. Killian smiled back at her as he reached his hand across the table to hers.

Granny brought their breakfast over and the three of them sat together, enjoying a wonderful breakfast prepared by Granny. They enjoyed mindless conversation and laughs. They laughed like they hadn't laughed in a long time. If you asked Granny or anyone in Granny's restaurant, it would be said that they were the spitting image of a happy family in a town where nothing bad ever happened.

Emma smiled to herself thinking about how they are one big happy family and how far they had come to be this way. It has been a long and winding road to becoming a family. For so long she had been alone and felt like she had no one in the world caring about her, and then suddenly a little boy showed up at her front door with a big grin on his face announcing that he was the baby that she had given up. She made the decision to drive him back to Maine where he had run away from and was welcomed into such an interesting town. In this town was where she had found her family. This town is where she called home. This town is where true love was able to blossom between her and Killian.

"I need to go to work," Emma said when their breakfast had finished. "I need to start thinking of places that Mr. Hyde could be hiding out."

"Aye, love. This town won't protect itself. Unless Regina added a new protection spell that no one was aware of.." Killian responded.

"Mom was pretty quiet last night. I think she is still struggling to deal with the fact that the Evil Queen is no longer inside her and that Robin is gone," Henry added with a rather sad look upon her face.

"Don't worry, kid. The goal of our family is to make sure everyone finds their happy ending. We will help Regina," Emma said as she hugged him. "But I really do need to get going. I'll see you later, kid."

"Bye, Mom," Henry waved before taking a sip of his hot cocoa.

Killian stood as Emma got out of the booth. "I'll see you later, Killian. I love you," she said as she gave him a hug and kissed him.

"I love you too, Emma," Killian responded. Emma smiled as did Killian and she left for work leaving the boys alone. After Emma was out the door, Killian sat back down in the booth.

Killian and Henry spent the next hour or so just talking in the booth like close friends. The two were very close. The connection between the two was inevitable. For Killian, it is a chance to get close to someone who is close to Emma. For Henry, it is a chance to get close to someone who knew his father when Baelfire was Henry's age. The two needed each other as a part of a family that was ever growing because they each had something that the other needed.

Killian knew that as Henry grew up there would be questions asked that both Emma and Regina would not be able to answer. The only other true male influence that Henry had left since Robin's untimely departure was Charming. So Killian and Charming needed to band together to make sure that Henry had the male support system that he needed.

"There is something I need to talk to you about, Henry," Killian said as he ran his hand through his hair, "but you can not tell your mom about it."

"Sure, what's up?" Henry responded.

"I want to plan a really special night out for your mom. One that she will remember forever and not because something happens to Storybrooke. I want it to be one that just focuses on the two of us and the possibility of a future for us, all of us." As Killian said this, he was looking down at the table, but looking at Henry just under the lids of his eyes.

"Why are you hiding your head from me? I'm not Mom." Henry laughed as he said this. "I think it's a great idea though. You two haven't been out on a true second date yet."

Killian nodded in agreement, "Aye, we haven't. Every time it seems we have the chance something goes awry and Emma is off to be the savior."

"So what did you have in mind?" Henry asked as he took a sip of his cinnamon hot chocolate.

"That's where you come in, lad. I'm not sure what Emma would enjoy the most. Also I want it to be surprise. We could call it Operation Platypus….or if you have a more appropriate name. The end game is that I want to marry Emma, if that's alright with you."

"I think we can come up with a better name than platypus, I'll work on that. All I want is for Mom to be happy. I've seen the way she looks when she's around you and she looks happy. Happier than I've ever seen here in the time that I've known her. You make Mom happy, so yes it is alright with me if you marry her."

"Aye good, Henry. Next person to get on board with my proposal idea would be your grandparents. I'm not so sure they want a pirate to be a part of the royal family."

"They've already accepted you. Why do you think they came with Mom to the Underworld leaving baby Neal behind?" Henry said give Killian the look of asking if he was really serious that Snow and Charming wouldn't be happy for Emma and Hook. "All Grandma and Grandpa want is for Mom to be happy just like I want. They will be beyond thrilled that you want to marry her."

Killian smiled as Henry spoke. Deep inside he hoped that Henry was right and that Snow and Charming would be welcoming to a pirate in the royal family. His mind kept going back to the conversation he had with Charming when they were in the Enchanted Forest when he and Emma had gone back in time.

Killian: I'm not sure her parents approve of me.

Charming: Well, given the lengths you've gone to save her… they'd be crazy not to.

Killian: I hope you remember that.

That was not the first time that Killian had doubted himself as being enough for Emma, but it was the first time that he showed that insecurity to someone else. Whenever he is around Emma he has a confidence around him that he is the best thing that will ever happen to her, after her first love of course. Since the test of true love, Killian has been determined to show Emma how much he truly cares for her. It broke his heart to watch her leave Underbrooke without him, but he knew that there was no other option for them without her being stuck there with him separated from her family. His fear was that she would resent him because she chose him over watching Henry and baby Neal grow up. Now that he was back in Storybrooke, he needed to show her that he could be the man she needed in her life.

The events of the past few months have proven to Killian the truth behind the statement he made to Emma when they were in Neverland and he promised her that he would win her heart. He had done exactly that. He had not played any tricks on her. He had decided to just be himself. Killian wanted to spend the rest of his life being himself Emma by his side. He wanted to raise a family with her, a family that included Henry along with a child of his own.

The goal of his mission currently is to plan a date that was perfect in Emma's eyes and would make her see how happy Killian can make her. He also wanted to plan a few other dates just so they could be like a normal couple who went on dates and fell deeply in love. From that point on it is time to plan a proposal worthy of royalty since he would be marrying into the royal family of the Enchanted Forest. Although he knew deep down that even if they could return to the Enchanted Forest, Emma would rather live in Storybrooke because it is the home she has come to know and love. Anywhere Emma is, is home to Killian. So to him, it didn't matter where she wanted to call home as long as he was with her.

While Killian and Henry were bonding and having guy time, Emma had arrived at the Sheriff's office to find her dad, Charming, hard at work in front of the computer. Granted it was more like he was still trying to turn on the computer and get signed in since they did not have computers in the Enchanted Forest and Charming was still getting used to them. In Emma's opinion, he was getting much better with the computer, but there were still days where he struggled just a little getting everything running that he needed to have running in the mornings.

"Morning, Dad," Emma said as she wrapped her arm over his shoulder and smiled. "How's it going?"

"Hey, Emma," Charming responded patting his daughter on the arm she had around his shoulder. "I can't seem to remember my password to sign onto this thing."

"Let me see it a second."

Charming moved out of the way so that Emma could attempt to sign into his computer for him. With a few quick strokes of the keyboard, Emma was signed on. She turned to Charming with a big grin of accomplishment on her face.

"There you go!" Emma laughed as Charming slid back in front of his computer. All he could do was shake his head. "By the way, your password is written on a sticky note under your keyboard."

"Thanks," he said slightly discouraged that he couldn't get himself signed on, but he was grateful that Emma was able to get him signed in. "I'll figure it out one of these days."

"I know you will. It just takes time. I'm sure Henry probably could've signed you on without even being here with as sharp as he is."

"Probably," Charming laughed. "Where is he this morning?" Normally Henry made a point of coming in with Emma to say hello to Charming before he took off for school or wherever he was headed to hang out for the day.

"He was hanging out with Killian at Granny's when I left to come over here," Emma responded quickly. "I'm not sure what he was planning to do today."

Charming nodded his head and looked back at his computer to finish signing into what he needed to be logged onto for the day. He was slightly disappointed that Henry had not come in this morning, but he knew that spending some time with Hook would be a good thing for him.

"So how are things with Hook and you?"

"We're good. I think anyways. We fell asleep on the couch last night watching a movie. So there's that," Emma laughed.

Charming laughed and smiled at Emma. "Sometimes you just need a night to pass out in front of the television."

Emma smiled as she looked at her computer. "By the way, I'm sure both Henry and Killian will stop by at some point today to say hello. Henry wouldn't know how to go about his day without his daily stop." Emma knew that it bugged Charming that Henry hadn't come in yet this morning.

Charming smiled as he looked at the picture he had on his desk. It was of him, Snow, Emma, Henry, Killian, and baby Neal from the day that they officially announced Neal's name. It was the same day that Emma made the decision that she was going to remain living in Storybrooke and not move back to New York. It was one of the happiest days of his life.

It was the day that his family became complete. As dysfunctional as his family could be, Charming wouldn't change a thing. There were so many people who loved and cared for Henry and that warmed his heart. He remembered Snow telling him about how unloved Henry felt when he had himself convinced that Regina was the root of all things horrible in his life. It was a great change of pace for everyone to always see a smile on Henry's face now that everyone is home safe and sound.

Around 12:30 the door to the office opened and in walked Henry and Killian. Both with a smile on their faces laughing and talking like they were old old friends.

"Hey, Mom! Hey, Grandpa! How's it going?" Henry said when he entered the room.

Hearing Henry's voice, Charming looked up from his work with a smile. "Hey, Henry. It's going alright. How are you?" Charming said as he got up from his desk to give Henry a hug.

"Hello, love," Killian said when he got to Emma's desk and kissed her cheek place a hand on her back. Emma looked up at Killian with a smile on her face.

"Hey, kid," Emma said when Henry came over to give her a hug.

"We wanted to see if you two wanted to go grab lunch at Granny's," Henry stated.

"Sounds good to me," Charming answered pushing in his chair and shutting off his computer. "It's not like we are making any big head ways on find the good old doctor."

"Did you leave Granny's at all this morning after I left?" Emma asked as she began the process of shutting down her computer.

Killian and Henry looked at each other and shook their heads no in unison. This caused Emma to laugh which then triggered Killian and Henry to join in the laughter. Charming didn't want to feel left out so he joined in the laughter as well.

"Should we see if Grandma wants to go to?" Henry asked as the crew walked out of the Sheriff's office.

"That sounds like a great idea. Why don't you come with me over to her office and we'll ask," Charming said with a smile.

"We'll meet you there. See if Regina wants to come, too, if she's at the office as well," Emma responded wrapping Killian's arm over her shoulder. Killian kissed the side of her head once his arm was comfortably situated.

As Henry and Charming walked towards the Mayor's office, Emma and Killian walked towards Granny's. Each pair having their own unique conversation.

"Emma really is happy with Hook, isn't she?" Charming asked glancing over his shoulder to see his daughter walking away.

"Yeah she is. She finally told him that she loved him when we got back from Underbrooke," Henry answered following his Grandpa's line of sight.

"Oh, wow. Good for them. She deserves to be happy."

"Yeah, they both do. By the way, I think Hook is going to want to talk to you about something soon, but I'm not allowed to tell you what."

"C'mon, Henry! You can't just drop information like that and leave me hanging!" Charming responded at a heightened pitch.

"I don't know anything more than that he may want to talk to you in the near future. We didn't really have a chance to talk about it much this morning."

"Okay, I guess I will just wait then," Charming sighed.

The pair entered the Mayor's office on their search of Regina and Snow.

"So how does it feel to be back in Storybrooke, love?" Killian asked as the pair walked down the sidewalk.

"Right now, it feels peaceful. That is until Dr. Hyde comes out of hiding," Emma answered as she nuzzled her head into Killian shoulder.

"Ay, yes it does. Swan, er I mean Emma," Killian said stopping in his path and turning to look at Emma. "I have something to ask you."

"Killian, what's wrong? Did something happen this morning?" Emma said with panic starting to show in her green eyes.

Spotting the panic, Killian took Emma into his arms to comfort her. "Nothing is wrong, love. Nothing happened. I just wanted to ask you a simple question."

Looking up at Killian, Emma nodded her head. "Okay."

"Emma, will you go out on a second date with me now that we are home?" Killian said looking Emma directly in the eyes, with a glimmer of hope shining in his own.

"Yes, Killian. Of course I will go out on a second date with you." Emma wrapped her arms around Killian's neck pulling him in for a kiss.

Killian smiled as his lips reached Emma's. This is right where he wanted to be in his life. He wanted to be happy with the woman he loves wrapped in his arms just as happy as he is. Softly he brushed his lips on Emma's lips, just close enough to have a connection between the two without making it more than a simple kiss in the middle of town.

Emma couldn't help but smile as they shared a kiss. This was the happiest she remembered being since Neal passed away. Being with Killian reminded her that it was okay to let her armor down and to be vulnerable with someone, which was exactly what she needed at this point in her life. She was ready to settle down and be a part of a family. Since coming to Storybrooke, Emma was finally beginning to feel like she belonged somewhere. Like she had a family that wanted her around. Like she was loved. Killian was a big component of that last piece. He made her feel like nothing she had ever felt before.

"So did you have anything in mind for this second date?" Emma asked after the two resumed walking hand in hand towards Granny's. Her ever inquisitive mind was already at work trying see if she could get a read on what Killian had in store.

"Ay, yes I do, but I'm not going to tell you what I have planned. It wouldn't be a very good surprise," Killian chuckled squeezing Emma's hand a little tighter.


	2. A New Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and read the first chapter. I hope it was something that you enjoyed! I am happy to announce the second chapter is finally here! So please read and review! If you are interested in getting sneak peaks into the upcoming chapters please find me on Facebook by searching for the page "Starr Nobella Fanfiction". I post teasers and other information about the chapters. Along with Facebook, I have Twitter and Tumblr that you can reach me at as well.
> 
> Twitter: caligirl9392
> 
> Tumblr: livingcolorsandunspokenwords
> 
> Song Recommendations for the chapter: Forever and Always by Parachute (the name sake for the story); Human Nature by Glee; Today was a Fairy Tale by Love Actually
> 
> Disclaimer: All of the episode references and brand titles do not belong to me. The characters are property of the producers, Adam and Eddie as well as ABC. All images were found using Google images. The only thing I hold claim to is the plot ideas of this story. I do not write for profit.
> 
> Please review! I really enjoy reading what you all think about it!

Arriving at the Mayor's office, Henry and Charming entered the main doors in search of Snow and Regina, hoping that they would find both hard at work inside. Henry was afraid that Regina had decided against leaving her bed this morning, but much to his delight as they entered the office door they found both Snow and Regina looking at the same computer monitor trying to figure out what it was doing. Henry looked at Charming with a big smile on his face happy to see Regina.

"Hey, mom!" Henry said as he reached Regina to give her a hug since she was seated in front of the computer intensely looking at the screen and was taken by surprise when she felt her son's arms on her shoulders, but smiled when she turned around and saw him. "What are you working on? Hey Grandma."

"Hi, Henry," she said turning back to the screen. "Oh, not much just trying to learn more about the Olympus Crystal that Hades used to kill Robin, but we aren't getting anywhere with this stupid computer," Regina said clicking furiously with the mouse.

"Let me see it a second, before you break the mouse," Henry said trying to restrain from laughing.

While Henry was fixing the computer, Charming came up to Snow. Giving her a hug and kissed the side of her head he whispered so only Snow could hear what he was saying, "Hey, you. How's she doing?"

Before answering her husband, Snow kissed him quickly on the lips causing a smile to creep upon both of their faces. "Other than getting frustrated with the computer, she seems to be doing okay. She is not ready to talk about it just yet, but I told her that I would be here to listen whenever she was ready." As Snow whispered this, she snuggled into Charming's arm that rested around her neck on her shoulders as they turned to watch their grandson work with the computer.

They felt so lucky that they have gotten to watch Henry grow into the impressive young man who was standing before them. After everything Henry had been through, they were glad to see that he was a happy and healthy teenager who was entering the dating world. They knew about his first kiss with Violet, but didn't want to embarrass him by talking about it right now. Snow was especially proud to see how strong Henry was after knowing how neglected and unloved he felt before he went in search of Emma. She had seen the happiness and life come back to his eyes upon his return with Emma in tow, even if Emma was a bit resentful at first. Then she watched as her daughter grew to love the son that she given up at birth and fall in love with a man, that Snow hoped would become her son-in- law some day.

"Hi, Henry," Snow said while smiling at her grandson. "Did you figure out what we were doing wrong?"

Henry turned around to face his mother and grandparents. "Yeah, you were trying to search in your personal folders, but I'm guessing you meant to be searching the Internet, right?"

"The Inter-what?" Snow and Regina said in unison with identical confused looks on their faces.

"Internet," Henry laughed as he turned back around to face the computer. "You see," he said pointing to the screen, "this little red, yellow, green, and blue circle?"

Snow and Regina both nodded in agreement, "Yeah. What about it?" Regina asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"This is what you want to click on to get on the Internet. I'm guessing you either clicked on the yellow folder icon here or else you typed your inquiry into the Cortana bar," he stated as he proceeded to show them the difference between the two buttons he just mentioned. "When you want to do research, you want to click on the circle and then type what you want to research in that white bar at the top of the screen."

"That makes more sense," Snow said sounding a little relieved. "So what did we do to earn the honor of you two coming in for a visit?" she asked with a smile as she looked from her grandson to her husband.

"Well, Henry and Hook came in the station to see if Emma and I wanted to get some lunch, and we weren't doing anything anyways, so we decided to pack up and go with them. On our way to Granny's, Henry suggested we see if you two lovely ladies would like to join us," Charming said with a grin looking at his wife.

"I could use a break," Snow responded, "we spent the last hour and a half trying to figure out what we did wrong. And look, it only took Henry five minutes to fix our problem."

Laughter escaped everyone's lips and there was even a slight smile on Regina's face where there had only been sadness for the last few days. Henry caught this and his smile got bigger. His mom deserved to be happy, but at the same time he knew that she needed to grieve the loss of Robin, at least until he had a chance to do some research of his own to see if anything could be done to bring him back. He wanted to look up the crystal and the power that he held as the author. He knew, however, that he had to be careful about how he used the power, but he was still wanted to learn more.

"Yeah, I could use a break too," Regina stated after she stopped laughing, "that stupid thing started giving me a headache." She reached over and took the mouse from Henry to shut down the computer so that they could all leave.

Looking at the smile on her son's face, Regina felt her heart soften with happiness. It was has been a rough few days for her since Robin's untimely passing. If she would have been left to her own devices to cope, there was a high chance that she would be curled up in a ball on the floor of her bedroom crying or worse she would have gone back to a dark place and use her magic to destroy the happiness of others. However, Henry has not left her side other than this morning when he had breakfast with Emma and Hook.

Regina felt extremely grateful to have Henry and his loving nature in her life. It made it slightly easier to deal with the pain and sadness of losing Robin. Someday she will have to remember to thank Emma for giving birth to Henry and for giving him up at birth, so that she could have a chance to meet this wonderful young man and watch him grow. She also had to thank Emma for bringing him back to Storybrooke when he ran away to find his birth mother when he was feeling all alone. Regina also made a mental note to apologize to Emma for how mean she was to her when she did first bring Henry back home and explain to her exactly why she had acted that way. She also made a mental note to apologize to Henry for making him feel neglected and promise to never let it happen again. However all of that could wait for another day she thought as her stomach growled to remind her what they were all getting ready to do.

"Let's get some lunch," Regina announced turning away from the computer and walking towards the Charming clan.

"Where are we going?" Snow asked as the four walked towards the door to the office.

"Where else? Granny's of course," Henry answered with a smile as he led them out the main doors.

Snow and Charming chuckled quietly as they walked hand in hand behind Regina and Henry toward the best diner in town to meet Emma and Killian, who were arriving soon.

While Charming and Henry were off getting Regina and Snow, Killian and Emma arrived at the gate in front of Granny's holding hands and smiling like the goofy love-struck couple they were. Anyone who walked past them as they walked from the station to Granny's could sense the love between them because it radiated like the sun.

Stopping at the gate, Killian turned to look at Emma. "This is where we shared one of my favorite kisses." He gently touched her arm looking deep into her eyes.

"It was one of my favorite kisses, too. Remind me again what led up to that kiss?" Emma asked with a smile as she led him to the table where the pair were sitting after she had decided she was going to stay in Storybrooke when they returned from their time jump to the Enchanted Forest.

Killian sat down in the chair opposite of where Emma had sat down, "I believe that I was sitting out here drinking alone, while you were in talking to your parents after they announced Neal's name. And while I was looking at the bottom of a rum bottle, a gorgeous blonde came outside and asked me why I wasn't inside. I told her I felt out of place with all the family time going on inside. Then she sat down where you are now and asked me how I was able to get back to her and be able to remember everything that happened before the second curse. I didn't want to lie to her, because to be honest I was falling in love with her even then," Killian said as he blushed slightly while looking down at his hand playing with Emma's fingers, but out of the corner of his eye he could see her blushing as well.

As Killian was talking to her, Emma was fondly remembering that moment as well. She was happy to be back in Storybrooke after watching her parents fall in love and becoming a part of of the storybook, even if it was as Princess Leia. During that trip she had begun to feel less like an outcast and an orphan, and more like a princess. Most of that change of feeling was thanks to Killian. He had brought her out of her shell more than he was probably aware of and for that she would be eternally thankful.

Killian continued on with his version of the story as the scene played along in his head as well. The time trip that he and Emma had experience was when he vowed to himself that he would prove to Emma and to her family that he was worthy of being with Emma. He started to fall hard for her then because he had seen her at her weakest moments. However, the moment he was recalling was one of the most romantic moments he and Emma had ever yet shared.

Killian: All I needed was a magic bean..

Emma: Those are not easy to come by.

Killian: They are if you've got something of value to trade.

Emma: And what was that?

Killian: The Jolly Roger, of course.

Emma: You traded your ship for me?

"I told the beautiful blonde that the Jolly Roger was of enough value to trade for a magic bean. The look on her face was of total shock and love as she asked if I had traded my ship for her and before I could get 'Aye' out of my mouth, she had brought her lips to mine and kissed me," Killian said with his trademark smirk, "and it was a bloody amazing kiss. I have had the pleasure of experiencing multiple kisses from that lovely blonde and each one gets better and better."

Killian looked over at Emma to see her gorgeous smile, "Lucky for me, I get to kiss that gorgeous blonde all the time because that blonde is you, Swan. I love you," he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

"I love you too, Killian," Emma responded just seconds before Killian's lips reached hers. The kiss was soft at first as if the two were kissing each other for the first time. Neither one sure if they wanted to push the kiss any further. Soon Killian began to deepen the kiss. He placed his hand at the base of Emma's head gently stroking her cheek with his thumb as he slowly started to brush his tongue against her lips asking for permission to deepen the kiss by allowing his tongue to explore her mouth.

A soft moan escaped Emma's lips as she parted them to grant Killian's tongue access to her mouth as she began to snake her tongue into Killian's mouth to begin an exploration of her own. Gently she placed one hand on Killian's neck by his shoulder and her other hand was stroking his hook as it laid on his thigh. Every so often, her fingertips would softly brush against his thigh causing Killian's breathing to audibly hitch that led to Emma smiling as they kissed.

"Would you two get a room?" Regina announced as she, Henry, Charming and Snow approached the gate at Granny's. Emma and Killian separated from each other at the first sound of Regina's voice and smiled at each other before looking towards her family. "I don't think the entire town, our son included, needs to see you two attached at the face just before they eat their lunch."

"Sorry about that," Emma said as she wiped her lips to make sure her lip gloss was not entirely smudged from her impromptu makeout session with the handsome pirate sitting before her, although she could not wipe the grin off her face or the blush off her cheeks as she was greeting her family. All the while keeping a hand on Killian, not wanting to lose the closness they were just enjoying.

"Hey, mom, Hook," Henry said coming over to give Emma a hug. She wrapped the hand that wasn't holding Killian's around her son's waist. "Ready to go inside?' he asked looking at everyone.

"Yes, let's eat," Regina said as she walked towards the front door. Everyone else followed suit as Emma and Killian stood up from where they were seated. Henry was the first to follow Regina inside as Emma took a brief second to say hello to her mom with a hug and a smile and then the two ladies headed inside the diner. Charming hung back to walk in with Hook, secretly hoping that he would get some insight into what Henry had hinted at earlier, but he was sadly left in the dark because all he and the pirate shared was a brief smile and hello as they entered behind their significant others.

Seated at their regular booth, the family enjoy small talk until Granny came over to take their order and harass Killian and Henry for spending so much time there this morning.

"Are you two back already? I swear you've only been gone for five minutes," Granny said with a jokingly, "Although you are good customers so I can't complain too much. What can I get you all to eat?"

They went around the table each placing their order and carrying on small conversations along the way between each other and with Granny as she continued to tease Killian and Henry.

Regina looked around the table smiling to herself thinking about how easy it would have been for the Charmings to completely erase her from their lives. She had been a horrible person back in the Enchanted Forest to both Snow and Charming, so they had absolutely no reason to be friendly to her. They had no good reason to welcome her into their family, other than the fact that she was Henry's adoptive mother and Snow's stepmother. She knew that they didn't have to treat her like family, but she was happy that they did.

Henry tapped Killian on the shoulder to get his attention, "I came up with a better name than platypus," he whispered once Killian looked at him.

"Aye, and what's that?" Killian asked trying to keep his voice low enough that Emma would not hear what he and Henry were discussing.

"Operation Swan. I thought it was appropriate given Mom's maiden name and the fact that swans, the actual animal, mate for life," Henry said smiling at his soon-to-be step-dad. He saw a spark in Hook's eye which meant he liked the idea.

"It's perfect. Thank you, Henry" Killian responded. It meant a lot to him that Henry was on board with his plan for a future with Emma. Now he just had to plan a date that would be a date to remember for the both of them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw that Killian and Henry were talking about something, but she wasn't sure what because she could not hear a word they were saying. She could just see that their lips were moving. She made a mental note to ask Henry about what they were talking about when she got the chance. Her mind was still slightly distracted by not only the kiss that was too quickly interrupted by family, but also the date that Killian was planning for the two of them. She wanted to know what he had in store, but at the same time she was happy that he was trying to keep it a surprise.

After Granny walked away to make their food, the conversation became more connected rather than individual conversations in their own little corners of the booth. Regina and Snow asked Charming and Emma if they had found anything as to the location of the new inhabitants of Storybrooke. Emma and Charming were sad to report that there had been no updates on who's living in town and who's not especially since there was no accurate way of knowing who was living in Storybrooke to begin with.

"Maybe we should take a census," Emma suggested, "that way we know who is living here and where exactly they are living."

"That is a good idea. Then we would know who is actually here and who managed to make it back to the Enchanted Forest when we were trying to save everyone from Hades," Regina said in agreeance with Emma's idea.

"We could have everyone come to our office and fill out a card with simple information like their address and occupation," Snow added in, mainly just wanting to be a part of the conversation. She was very impressed with Emma's idea and quite shocked that she, the school teacher who took role everyday to keep track of her students, hadn't come up with herself. All the same however, she was proud of her daughter.

"Emma and I can be there to make sure that nothing gets too out of hand just in case some of our new neighbors are not the friendliest," Charming suggested.

Snow looked at him and nodded in agreement, "That's a good idea. Sometimes just having the presence of the Sheriffs can keep people on their best behavior."

Regina nodded, "I agree. One of them can be walking around while the other can be at the table with one of us helping people fill out the form so that we are guaranteed to get all the information we need."

"Hook and I can be an extra set of eyes if you need us to," Henry said.

"Ay, usually when a pirate is involved people don't want to cause trouble," Killian added while squeezing Emma's hand that happened to be laying on his thigh hidden under the table out of sight. Emma looked at Killian and smiled knowing full well that he wanted to be there so that if something were to go wrong to protect Emma.

"So it's settled, we will all help with the census. Now we just need to figure out when we are going to do this, so that we can get the word out," Emma said, "but we can set the date later because right now I am hungry. Perfect timing, too"

As Emma was speaking Granny brought their lunches out of the kitchen. "Dig in, everyone!" she said before she was walking away to the counter to take care of another customer.

The conversations at the table completely ceased. Everyone was enjoying their lunches and the happy company that they were sitting amongst. Each one reeling in control of their own thoughts.

As she was eating, Regina's focus was far from taking a census of all of the townspeople. She was thinking about Robin and how much she missed him. She was wracking her brain trying to come up with a spell or a potion that could bring him back to life and all she could come up with was the time travel spell that Zelena had come up with. It had worked. Emma and Hook had managed go back in time and then return to the present. She made a mental note to ask them how getting back had worked. She did remember them saying that they had to be very careful that they didn't change too much in the past, or else the present might not be the same as what they know it to be and that Rumplestiltskin had been involved. Quietly she sighed to herself, filing the time travel spell away as the last resort to bring Robin back.

Looking between her daughter and Hook, Snow couldn't help but smile. She had seen how much Emma had grown in the time that she had been in Storybrooke. The most impressive growth she had seen in her daughter came from the time that Emma spent with Killian. When Emma first arrive at Storybrooke, Snow remembered, she was very wary of trusting anyone in town other than Snow and herself, and it had taken Emma a while to trust Snow because of all the experiences she had dealt with in her past. Especially those experiences involving Neal and losing her Tallahassee with him. She was happy to see that Emma had found happiness and a new Tallahassee with Killian and Storybrooke. She hoped that someday soon she would get to help her daughter plan a wedding fit for the princess that Emma truly was. All she had to do was hope that Killian loved her daughter as deeply as it radiated between the two of them even as they just sat across from her at the table.

No matter what Charming was doing, he could not focus on anything other than what Henry had told him on their way over to see Snow and Regina. He wanted to know what Hook wanted to talk to him about as Henry put it "sometime soon" and he wanted to know now, not sometime soon. As impatient as he was, he knew that he couldn't force Hook to tell him what was going on, so he conceded to waiting for Hook to come around when he was ready.

Emma's mind was wondering more about what Killian had in mind for their date than it was about taking a census of the town. She was coming up with scenarios that he could possibly have in mind and thinking about her closet trying to decide if she had enough clothing options to make sure she looked attractive and was dressed sensibly for whatever he had in mind. She made a mental note to try and get some idea of what he had in mind, so that she could go shopping if it was absolutely necessary. Maybe she could ask Henry if he had any ideas.

After they had finished their meals, the conversation had picked back up and much to Henry's dismay it was all focused on him.

"So Henry, how's Violet?" Snow asked, honestly curious about how the young lady was doing since they had gotten back from New York.

"She's good, Grandma," Henry said while he was trying to hide his face from the adults so they could not see him blushing. This led to the entire family trying to tell him that he did not have to be embarrassed and that they were happy for him. The conversation soon subsided when everyone realized that time was passing away and they hadn't gotten much actual work done today.

Snow and Regina went back to the office so that they could start gathering information on what they would need together for the census. Emma, Killian, and Charming went back to the sheriff's station to see if they could find any clues as to where Dr. Jekyll was hiding out since they hadn't had any luck finding anything useful while they were in the office this morning. Henry headed back to Regina's house to do some research into the powers he had as the author even though he had no idea where to begin looking.

A few hours later, Killian and Emma were headed home with a quick stop off at the local grocery store so that they could actually have food in the house instead of eating out for every meal. As they wandered up and down the aisles, Emma took the time to explain to Killian the different items that they were walking past and placing in the cart to buy that he was completely unfamiliar with chuckling at some of his mispronunciations of the food.

"Pom-e-gran-ate? What the bloody hell is that?" Killian asked as he picked the hard pink fruit up looking it over. "Why are you laughing?" he said while trying to restrain his own laughter.

Struggling to control her giggles, "It's pomegranate," she answered over enunciating the word and taking the fruit from his hand and placed it in the cart. "You only eat the seeds. They are really juicy."

"Whatever you say, love," he responded kissing the side of her head as he took the cart from her. For the first time, they were acting like a normal couple who lives together and had to do their weekly grocery shopping, just like Snow and Charming. Deep inside, this made Killian smile. He was looking forward to a lifetime of doing things a normal couple does, even if he has to do them with a hook for a hand. His mind wandered to thoughts of his first date with Emma when the crocodile had given him his hand back for the evening. What he wouldn't give to be able to hold Emma again with two hands. His mind was still drifting back to their makeout session this afternoon outside of Granny's.

Emma looked at Killian and saw the smile that he was trying to hide, but was not very successful at doing so. This made her smile and it warmed her heart. It also made her laugh because he of how cute he was acting as she was explaining the different food items that they encountered and the faces he was making at their names. This was exactly what she wanted. Something that felt normal. Something that felt right. With Killian, she didn't have to be afraid of being herself. He had loved her as the Dark One, so she knew he was capable of loving her no matter what came their way.

After checking out at the grocery store, Emma and Killian headed home. As they walked together, they continued their conversations from the store about the strange names of fruits, vegetables, and other foods in general that did not make any sense at all to Killian.

They arrived at their home and put their groceries away. Emma and Killian sat down on the couch to watch some television relaxing from their long afternoon of searching for Dr. Jekyll.

Around six o'clock, all that could be heard was the sound of grumbling stomachs. That growl broke the happy silence that had encased Killian and Emma. The sound then led to laughter bursting from both of them.

"I guess I should start something for dinner," Emma said between fits of laughter as she looked at Killian who was smiling and laughing as well.

"Aye, would you like help?" he asked.

"I think I can handle it, just take it easy and relax since you have a big date to plan," she joked as she got up off the couch. "When will this date be anyways?" she asked nonchalantly.

"I was thinking about it being tomorrow night. Is that okay?"

Emma smiled and nodded her head as she walked towards the kitchen. Only this morning he had asked her out for a second date and now she had less than twenty four hours to prepare. This slightly freaked her out. However, she went to work preparing dinner for the two of them. She got some hamburger out of the freezer and started preparing the classic Hamburger Helper because it was quick and easy. They were both really hungry, so she didn't want to make something that would take a long time.

About twenty minutes later, Killian walked into the kitchen after catching a whiff of the food Emma was preparing that had wafted into the living room.

"That smells good, what is it?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her head.

"Hamburger Helper. It has hamburger, cheese, and noodles. It's pretty good," she responded leaning her head back to place it on his shoulder so that she could give him a quick kiss. "And it is done!"

The pair sat down at the table to enjoy their dinner. There was not much conversation because they were so hungry. After they were finished and the dishes had been put into the dishwasher, they decided to head upstairs to their bedroom and call it a night.

"So do I need to wear anything special for tomorrow night?" Emma asked as she was in the bathroom attached to the master bedroom washing her face getting ready for bed. She was partially asking this to see if he would drop any hints as to what he had planned and the other part of her was asking just because she was curious because she was excited.

"Anything that you wear will be perfect, love. We aren't going anywhere super fancy," Killian responded as he finished pulling on his pajama pants on and sat down on the bed to wait for Emma to come to bed.

Emma laughed to herself at Killian's response to her question. He was one of the sweetest men she had ever met. He did everything that he could to make sure she was aware of how beautiful he found her. This thought made her smile, just like she smiled when they were in the grocery store and he was stumbling over fruits and vegetable names. He made her happy and he made her see that there could finally be a new normal for her daily life and they are able to have a new beginning in a world full of craziness that they had experienced the whole time that they knew each other.

Walking out of the bathroom, Emma smiled when she saw her shirtless captain sitting on their bed. With a similar smile, Killian watched his beautiful Swan walking towards him in a camisole and gym shorts joining him on the bed.

When she was seated, they leaned in towards each other to share a kiss. This kiss did not start out gently as the one earlier today did. This kiss was full of passion as Emma brought her hand up to caress Killian's cheek as he deepened the kiss. Killian took his hand and wrapped it around Emma's waist to pull her closer to him so that more than just their lips were touching.

A soft moan escaped Emma's lips as she placed her free hand on Killian's shoulder. As the moan escaped her lips, a gasp escaped Killian's. The sounds that the other was making brought a smile to each of their lips. Before their hands could explore too much more, the pair broke apart in a desperate attempt to catch their breath. They smiled at each other once they had looked up from catching their breath. Both knowing that the timing just wasn't right for them to go any further. The time for that, however, would come soon enough.

Crawling under the covers, Emma moved in closely to Killian's chest. Killian wrapped his arms around her holding her close. With her head on his chest Emma could hear his heartbeat as he kissed the top of her head gently while stroking her hair until her breathing slowed as she fell asleep.

Once her breathing had slowed significantly, she rolled herself onto her side facing away from Killian. He slid down behind her bringing her in towards his body to spoon he drifted off to sleep. With a gently kiss to the back of her head, Killian softly whispered, "Good night, Swan. I love you."

Emma smiled when she heard the phrase in her dream and softly placed her hand on Killian's that was draped over her body. The couple fell asleep in this position, both dreaming about how tomorrow evening would go as they looked forward to their second date.

Somewhere in New York City, there was a disturbance on the streets as a woman with hair as black as the night wearing a purple sparkling ball gown and was storming through the streets casting spells on anyone who happened to get in her way.


	3. Back at One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes!
> 
> Thank you all for reading the first two chapters! We are officially to the chapter about the date we've all been waiting for. This chapter does earn its mature rating, so please let me know what you think. I can't decided if I liked the way I wrote it or not. 
> 
> Please SHARE, COMMENT, REVIEW, FAVORITE, FOLLOW, SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, and do whatever it is you readers do! It all really means the world to me! I read all of them and take them to heart!
> 
> You can find me on the following sites.
> 
> Facebook: Starr Nobella Fanfiction
> 
> Twitter: caligirl9392
> 
> Tumblr: livingdreamsandunspokenthoughts
> 
> Fanficition: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12034662/1/Forever-and-Always
> 
> Song Recommendations for the chapter: Perfect by One Direction; Every Breath You Take by The Police; You & I by One Direction; Back at One by Brian McKnight
> 
> Disclaimer: All of the episode references and brand titles do not belong to me. The characters are property of the producers, Adam and Eddie as well as ABC. All song references do not belong to me, they belong to the artists who wrote and performed them. All images were found using Google images. The only thing I hold claim to is the plot ideas of this story. I do not write for profit.
> 
> Please review! I really enjoy reading what you all think about it!

"Henry, if you're free today, I could really use your help. It's date night. So I want to make sure the house looks perfect and make something delicious for dinner. -Hook" was the text that Henry awoke to find on his phone the next morning. He got out of bed and started getting ready for his day to help Hook get ready to really impress his mom and possibly see Violet for a little bit. While he was getting ready, he shot a quick text back to Hook letting him know he would be there around nine thirty.

Killian smiled when he had read Henry's text as Emma joined him in the kitchen. She was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans, a black tank top, and her signature red leather jacket. She busied herself by getting a cup of coffee that Killian had made when he got up and walked over to the table where Killian was just watching her move all over the kitchen. He smiled as she approached and leaned down to kiss him.

"Good morning," Emma said. "Thanks for making the coffee," she said as she took a large sip from her cup after kissing him.

"Good morning, love," Killian responded after the kiss. "You're welcome."

"I will meet you back here after I get off work and then we can go out for our date," she said with a smile at Killian. She was thinking about what she was going to change into after work so that tonight could be a little more special than just her wearing what she wore everyday to work.

"Actually, love, we don't have to go anywhere when you get home from work. Our date will be here, but that's all I'm telling you," Killian said with the trademark smirk beaming from his face. This led to Emma to scrunch her brow and stick her tongue out at Killian which caused him to burst out laughing and almost falling out of his chair from the laughter.

"That's not fair! I just want to know a few details!" Emma said stamping her foot like she was about to have a temper tantrum. However, she could barely contain her laughter, so it was difficult to take her seriously which led to Killian laughing even harder.

"You got a major detail, so don't complain. It's better than nothing and if you don't leave soon, you will be running late and you will never hear the end of it from your dad," Killian mocked with a grin on his face. "Have a wonderful day at work, Swan. I love you and will see you later." Killian kissed her softly before she could speak.

"Yeah, yeah I'll see you later. I love you too," she responded after his kiss with one more quick kiss and then she was out the door.

While Killian was waiting for Henry, he couldn't help but think back to the night of the ball that he and Emma attended when they were in the Enchanted Forest on their time travel trip. He couldn't help but smile as he thought about how Emma looked in her red ball gown. He knew she was nervous being there because she felt like she didn't fit in, but the beautiful thing about it all was that she did fit in. He could remember their conversation on the dance floor perfectly.

Emma: Watch the mocking. I'm actually getting the hang of this.

Killian: I'm not mocking you, Swan. I was just thinking about what you said in Storybrooke - about not being a princess.

Emma: You get my first dance at my first royal ball and all you can say is, I told you so?

Killian: I believe what I'm trying to say is, your highness, you appear to be a natural.

The smile that lit up Emma's face after he told her she was a natural melted his heart. He could tell what he had said really meant a lot to her. He hoped that he would be able to see that smile tonight as well. She meant the world to him and he was ready to prove it to her with the help of her son. Both Emma and Henry were very important to him. As he was thinking about all of this, Henry popped his head in the front door.

"Hook, are you here?" Henry called out as he closed the front door behind him and walked into the entry way.

"Morning, Henry," Killian responded as he walked out of the kitchen to meet Henry. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm good. What about you? Are you excited for tonight?"

"Aye, I'm doing well. I am excited, but I'm also nervous, if that makes any sense at all."

"It's perfectly normal to be nervous. Everyone always says that first dates are the scariest, but no one warns you about the second date and how nerve-wracking it can be," Henry said looking at his feet as he finished his sentence. Killian noticed the look of dismay in Henry's eyes that he was trying to hide and decided he would ask him about it later after they got the house ready for tonight.

"So what's the plan?" Henry asked as a way to change the subject when he looked back up from his feet. Deep down, he wanted to ask Hook about what he should do for a first date with Violet even though it would actually be their second date because of the New York adventure, but no matter what number date it was, it made him nervous all the same. However, he decided that his concerns could wait until they had everything perfect for tonight.

"Well, I want to cook something for dinner, but I am completely clueless in the kitchen. Usually someone else on the ship cooked for everyone or when I was the only one on the Jolly Rodger, I would just find some place to dock for the night and find the local pub," Killian answered scratching his head as he looked at Henry with a slight hint of self-loathing in his eyes.

"Okay, I can help with that. I'll even teach you how to make something really simple. Spaghetti and meatballs. Knowing Mom, all of the ingredients are here for it too. It was one of the things she would always cook when we lived in New York," Henry answered with a smile when he noticed relief spread over Hook's face. "I'm pretty sure it's one of her favorite meals."

"Aye, I do recall Emma and I getting that at the store last night and I remember her saying something about how easy it was to make," Killian responded with a smile.

"So with the main dish out of the way, what else did you have in mind?"

"To go with dinner I want to get a bottle of wine and I want something special for dessert that is also delicious, but I don't think I've ever heard your Mom mention anything specific."

"She loves cupcakes. Especially chocolate ones with vanilla icing and cinnamon sprinkled on top of it. It tastes almost exactly like the hot chocolate we order at Granny's."

"You don't suppose Granny would be willing to whip up a few cupcakes like that, do you?"

"I don't think that she will or even have the time, but Grandma would be more than willing and would have the time," Henry said with a smile. "I can text her and see if she would have the time. She doesn't typically say no to me"

Henry and Killian laughed as he said this. "Aye, alright. See if she would be willing to do that for me. Tell her I would owe her anything she wanted in return," Killian responded.

"Be careful what you wish," Henry laughed, "because she could start hounding you about proposing or giving her more grandchildren or both."

"Maybe you should just leave out the piece about me oweing her anything she wants in return. I don't want your Mom to overhear anything about Operation Swan before we get it set into action," Killian responded with a chuckle and a wink.

While Killian was talking, Henry sent a text off to Snow about the cupcakes and got a very quick reply. Henry looked at the time on his phone and figured that Snow had decided not to go into the office today since she had responded right a way.

"She said yes," Henry told Killian and Killian had the biggest grin on his face.

"Excellent. So that's settled. So what else? Oh, yeah, Emma really seemed to like the rose I gave her on our first date, so I want to get a few more to lay around the house along with a few candles to give off a romantic vibe," Killian said as Henry nodded in agreement making a mental list of what they needed to pick up while they were out.

"What about scattering rose petals around the house too? It would give the house the aroma of roses, which I know Mom would love," Henry responded. "Also you could find a movie to watch on Netflix after dinner. I recommend 50 First Dates. I think both you and Mom will like it. It's really funny."

"Sounds like a plan. Looks like we have a lot of work to do. We better get going," Killian said. Henry nodded in agreement and the pair were out the front door on their way to pick up the last minute items they needed for the night. They knew that they needed to be careful how they went about getting everything and getting in home, just in case Emma was out doing rounds in the car of the town and would happen to see them.. They didn't want to ruin her surprise.

While Henry and Killian were out running around town picking out roses and candles, Snow was standing in her kitchen looking in the cupboard trying to find her chocolate cake mix when Charming came downstairs. He stood at the base of the stairs watching his beautiful wife dance around the kitchen after she found the mix. She had the biggest smile on her face that he had ever seen.

"What are you all smiles about this morning?" Charming asked as he walked into the kitchen kissed her on the temple as he walked beside her to get a cup of coffee.

"Henry texted me this morning to ask a favor for Hook," Snow said as she set the pre-heat on the oven and got the mixing bowl out to begin making the cupcake batter.

"What favor would that be?" Charming asked after taking a sip of coffee.

"Emma and Hook are having their second date tonight and Hook wanted to have something special for dessert, so Henry suggested chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing and cinnamon sprinkled on top which then led to him texting me and asking me if I'd be willing to bake them. Of course, I said yes, so hence the big smile."

"Oh, well that does make sense. Do you know what the plan is for this date?" Charming asked partially out of curiosity because of what Henry had mentioned yesterday and the other part of him not wanting to know any details that a father just shouldn't know about his daughter's dating life.

"Nope. All Henry asked about was the cupcakes, but I'm planning to ask Hook for details when he comes to pick up the cupcakes," Snow said as she began to mix the water, eggs, and cake mix together in a bowl with her hand mixer.

"Make sure you let me know what you find out, only if its father friendly information," Charming said before kissing Snow goodbye. "I have to get to the station. Love you!"

"I love you, too! Let me know if you find out anything from Emma!" Snow responded with a quick kiss of her own before Charming made his way out the door.

After the door closed, she smiled to herself and turned on the radio so that the house wasn't completely silent as she baked. She was so excited for Hook and Emma, but mostly for Emma because she deserved to be happy after all of the heartbreak that she had endured.

While Snow busied herself with her backing, Killian and Henry arrived at the flower shop and began to look at all of the roses and petals that they would be using to decorate the house. The two of them made for an entertaining sight to anyone who was watching them wander around the flower shop in awe of all the options they were seeing. At least they did until Belle's father, Maurice, took pity on them and offered his help.

"How can I help you two gentlemen this afternoon?" Maurice asked as he walked up to Killian and Henry who were looking at the roses.

"Hello, Maurice," Killian answered, "we are looking for roses and rose petals. I just didn't know there were so many colors."

"Yes, there are quite a few colors. If they are for Emma, as I am only guessing, then I would suggest either just the red ones or a mix of white and red ones," Maurice said as he pointed out the two colors.

"I think Mom's favorite are the red ones, at least I know she couldn't stop talking about how much she loved the red rose you brought to your first date," Henry added with a smile.

"Then red it is," Killian answered with a smile back to Henry. "I need a dozen long stem roses and a basket of matching petals."

"I think I can handle that. Give me about twenty five minutes to get everything together and you can pick them up," Maurice responded with a smile and headed back to his prep room to get Killian's order ready.

"Sounds good. Thank you, Maurice," Killian said as Maurice walked away waving his hand in the air as he walked. "Alright, so flowers are ordered, Snow is making the cupcakes, now all we need is the wine and candles, right?"

Henry nodded and the two of them headed towards the front door and over to the grocery store. Henry decided that now was as good as time as any to ask Hook for some advice about Violet.

"Hook, I've got a question for you," Henry said nervously as they walked.

"Sure, Henry. What's up?" Killian responded.

"How did you ask Mom out for your first date?"

"Well, actually, Emma asked me out for our first date. She walked into Granny's and told me that she was here to ask me out. Weren't you the one that told her it was okay to ask me out?"

"Oh yeah," Henry laughed. "I wasn't totally on board, but I wasn't about to say no to her trying to find her happiness."

Killian laughed, "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Henry said while looking intently at his shoes and the ground in front of him, "I want to ask Violet out on a date. I'm not sure how to do it though."

Killian smiled, "Henry, look at me."

Henry looked up at Killian from his shoes, "Yes?"

"Any lass would be lucky to go out with you. You don't have to do anything special. Just be yourself and when she says yes, just be you. Pick her up at her house, bring her a flower, and take her to dinner. Just keep it simple."

"I don't want to ask her out over text message though and that's the only way we've been communicating lately."

"So text her and ask her to meet you at the park or at Granny's and ask her out on a date then. Just think of it as a pre-date," Killian said as he put his arm around Henry.

"You really think that'll work?" Henry asked looking up at Hook.

"Aye, I really think it will."

Henry smiled, "Thanks for the advice, Hook."

"No problem, Henry. Now let's get what we need from the store so we can pick everything up and get the house ready for my date tonight," Killian answered proudly.

"Yes we do," Henry responded as they walked into the grocery store.

Killian sent Henry after the candles while he went to pick out the perfect bottle of wine to go with dinner and he also stopped off in the pharmacy to pick up an additional box of supplies, that he would need should things go well tonight, and he wanted to be prepared. As much as he loved Henry like a son, he was not ready to have a child of his own just yet, but he wouldn't mind perfecting the art of making one with Emma. As he thought this, he smiled to himself. He would like tonight to be the first time he made love to Emma, but only if she was ready to take that step.

After making his selections, Killian headed over towards the candles to find Henry. When he found him, Henry was comparing the scents of two candles. Killian laughed as he watched Henry smell one and then the other over and over again. He saw that one was cinnamon roll and one was vanilla. It made him smile when he saw how dedicated Henry was to the exact details that were involved in the planning of this evening.

"Which do you think Mom would like more, the cinnamon or the vanilla?" Henry asked when he noticed Hook standing there watching him.

"I think the vanilla will mix better with the roses," Killian answered.

"That settles it then," Henry said as he placed the cinnamon candle back on the shelf and grabbed the bag of vanilla tealight candles sitting on the shelf. "How many do you think we'll need? Should we get a couple of the bigger ones for dining room table?"

"Let's get a bag to put around the house, two of the stick ones because I found candlesticks this morning while I was looking around the kitchen that we can put on the table, and then two of the bigger round ones, just as spares," Killian said with a smile helping Henry grab the candles he had described.

They headed to the checkout counter with their selections and Killian paid the tab. They left for the flower shop to pick up the flowers.

"Why don't you call your Grandma to see if the cupcakes are ready to be picked up?" Killian said as they walked carrying the bags from the store.

"Okay," Henry answered as he moved all of his bags to one hand so he could pull his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Snow's number and waited for her to answer the phone.

"Hi Henry! How are you?" Snow answered cheerfully.

"Hey Grandma. I'm good, how are you?" Henry asked.

"I'm doing well. My apartment smells like cupcakes, so I'm a little hungry," she laughed.

Henry laughed, "Well I was actually calling about the cupcakes to see if they were ready to be picked up soon since Hook and I are out running some other errands."

"Well, you're in luck. I was icing the last one when you called. I will pack them up and you can stop by for them on your way back to Hook's."

"Alright great. Thanks, Grandma. We'll see you soon," Henry said before hanging up the phone.

"No problem, Henry. See you soon," Snow replied as she hung up the phone.

"Cupcakes are done. We can pick them up on our way back," Henry said to Hook as they arrived at the flower shop.

"Excellent," Killian responded smiling as they walked inside. "Maurice, we're back," he called.

"Perfect timing! I just finished wrapping up your order," Maurice responded.

"How much do I owe you?" Killian asked as he reached for his wallet.

"Not a thing. This one is on the house."

"Are you sure?" Killian asked with a puzzled look.

Maurice nodded, "Yes I'm sure. I am happy to help a young couple in love. Emma has done so much to help my daughter and I, so I want to repay the favor in a small way."

While Killian and Maurice were talking, Henry was walking around the shop looking at flowers. Killian noticed this out of the corner of his eye and smiled realizing what he was looking for.

"Pick a flower out, Henry and take it to Violet when you see her later," Killian said.

Maurice agreed, "Yes, Henry, please pick something. Flowers are the way to a girl's heart."

Henry blushed and smiled, "Thank you."

After walking around the store two more times, he picked out a pretty violet. With the flowers picked up, Killian and Henry headed out the door towards Charming and Snow's to pick up the cupcakes. There was an extra skip in both their steps as they left the flower shop along with large smiles on each of their faces.

Snow was playing with Baby Neal when there was a light knock on the door of the apartment. "I'll be right back," she cooed to the baby as she laid him in his playpen with a grin on his face.

As she opened the door she was greeted by her grandson's smiling face and the smiling face of her hopefully soon-to-be son-in-law. "Hi, Henry. Hi, Hook," she said with a smile on her own face. "Come on in!"

"Hi, Grandma," Henry said as he hugged her as he walked in the door. After hugging Snow, he went into the living room to say hi to Baby Neal and play with him for a little bit while Killian and Snow talked.

"Hi, Snow. Thank you so much for making the cupcakes," Killian said as he gave Snow a quick hug. "It really means a lot."

"Oh you're welcome," she responded. "Trust me when I say it was no trouble at all and I was very happy to be able to help. So what's the plan for the big night?"

Killian smiled at Snow's response. She was the true definition of a curious mother wanting to know what was going on in her daughter's love life without actually asking her daughter about it.

"Well, Henry is going to show me how to make spaghetti when we get back which is the main dish along with this wine we bought. Then we are going to watch 50 First Dates, as recommended by Henry and eat the cupcakes for dessert. The house is going to be decorated with roses, rose petals, and vanilla scented candles. All very romantic in my humble opinion," Killian said with a lovestruck smile.

"That sounds wonderful," Snow answered with a big smile on her face. "She will love it. Does she know what the plan is?"

"All she knows is that we are staying in tonight," Killian stated proudly.

"Oh, wonderful. Well, I don't want to keep you two from getting everything ready. Here are the cupcakes! I hope you and Emma have a wonderful evening," she said returning from the refrigerator with the box of cupcakes in hand.

"Thank you again, Snow. Really, it means a lot to me that you did all this."

"You're very welcome. I will see you later," Snow said with a smile.

"Bye Grandma!" Henry said as he headed to the door.

"See you later, Henry," Snow responded with a smile as she closed the door behind them. She walked back over to the playpen and picked up Baby Neal.

"I think your big sister is in for a special night tonight," she said as she kissed his cheek.

After a quick walk from Snow's apartment to the house, Killian and Henry set to work in the kitchen making dinner. It was around four thirty when they got home which meant they had about an hour and a half to get everything ready before Emma would be home from the station.

While the pasta was cooking, Killian put the wine in the refrigerator to chill it for dinner and then took his other purchase upstairs to place it in the bedside table. He changed into one of his tight fitting black t-shirts and a pair of dark wash jeans while he was in their bedroom. Also he had taken some of the candles and rose petals upstairs to decorate their bedroom and the hallway. He made a mental note to light the candles closer to the time Emma would be home so that the aroma would fill the house and it would be the first thing she smelled as she walked in the door. He was very proud himself at the amount of detail he had put into tonight.

While Killian was hard at work preparing everything upstairs, Henry was in the dining room arranging the dishes, silverware, cups, candles, roses, and petals on the table. He knew that Hook wanted their dinner to be an intimate and candlelit. Once the table was set to his standards, Henry proceeded to take some of the petals and candles into the living room to decorate and set the mood in there. He decided that he would help Hook light the candles before he left, so that none of them burned out before the night even started. Proud of his work, Henry headed back towards the kitchen to finish up the spaghetti and meatballs.

"That smells delicious," Killian said as he walked into the kitchen. "Thanks for all your help today. I really appreciate it. Did you text Violet?"

"You're welcome. I was happy to help. And yes I did," Henry answered. "I'm meeting her at the park in about twenty minutes."

"Good for you," Killian said with a smile. "Go have fun tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Hook. I will," Henry answered with a smile. "You and Mom are going to have a good time too."

With that being said, Henry was out the door soon after helping Killian light all of the candles all over the house. On his way to the park, Henry passed Emma as she was walking home.

"Hey, kid," Emma said as she gave him a quick hug. "Where are you headed?"

"Hey, Mom," Henry answered. "I'm on my way to the park to meet Violet."

Emma smiled, "Have a good time!"

"Thanks, Mom. You,too!" Henry said and he was off headed to meet Violet with a smile on his face and the perfect violet in his hand.

Emma smiled and continued her walk home. Not only was she nervous, but she was also very excited for her evening. As she walked up the front steps to her house, the door opened to a very handsome Killian standing in the doorway with very ambient lighting behind him and a dozen red roses in his hands.

"Hello, love," he said with his signature smirk. "Welcome home."

"Hey," she responded with a smile as she walked in the door she took the flowers from him. "Thank you for the flowers," she said as she smelled them. After she smelled the flowers she took the time to look around and see all of the candles and rose petals all over the house. Her jaw dropped, but it was hidden behind the roses so Killian didn't see her reaction.

"I'm glad you like them," he said as he took the flowers back from her to place them in the vase conveniently placed on the entry way table that happened to have water in it already. After he placed the flowers in the vase, he pulled Emma in close to his body to say hello properly.

He softly placed his lips on hers and slowly stroked her lips with his tongue asking permission to deepen the kiss which he was given when Emma's lips parted as she moaned into the kiss. Their tongues wrestled for a few moments as Emma's arms wrapped tighter around Killian's neck and his arms wrapped tighter around her waist.

Emma was the first to break the kiss to come up for air, "Hi," she said softly as she rested her forehead against Killian's. "It looks beautiful in here."

"It's all for you, love," he responded with a smile and quickly kissed her forehead before stepping back. "Dinner is ready whenever you are ready to eat."

"I'm going to go upstairs and change real quick first," Emma responded. "It is date night after all. I don't want to be wearing the same thing I wore to work," she laughed. Killian laughed as well and nodded.

As Emma went upstairs to change, Killian headed into the kitchen to turn on some music and pour the wine. He carried the glasses back into the dining room where he waited for Emma to come back down.

Emma followed the trail of rose petals from the entry way, up the stairs, and down the hallway to their bedroom. When she walked into the room, her breath was taken away. In the middle of their bed was a heart made out of tealight candles with a single red rose lying in the middle and rose petals spread around the heart. There were candles and rose petals all over the room. It was gorgeous.

"Wow, he really went all out," Emma thought to herself as she hung her red leather jacket back in the closet. She pulled out a simple dark grey tank top and a pair of light wash jeans and quickly changed clothes so that she could get back downstairs to see what Killian had up his sleeve for the evening. She smiled to herself just thinking about all that could possibly happen tonight especially in their bedroom.

She walked back downstairs and found Killian waiting for her in the dining room. He smiled as he saw her. He took her hand when she got closer and brought it to his lips to kiss it gently. After the kiss, he led her to the table where he pulled out her chair for her to sit down. Once she sat down, he kissed the top of her head before he took the covers off the plates to present the meal that he and Henry had prepared.

"Wah-la," Killian said with a grin as he presented the meal to Emma before he sat down in his chair. "Spaghetti and meatballs. One of your favorites I believe," he said with a wink. "And for dessert, chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing and cinnamon sprinkled on top."

Emma laughed, "You've been talking to Henry."

"Aye. I wanted to make sure tonight was perfect."

"So far so good, Jones," Emma said with a wink.

"Dig in and enjoy, love."

Emma smiled and dug into the meal that Killian and she was guessing Henry had prepared for them. The couple talked about Emma's day and the lack of progress that she had made because she was too distracted because she was too busy thinking about tonight. This made both of them laugh. They continued to make small talk while they ate.

The song playing in the background was "Back at One" by Brian McKnight. It was one of Emma's favorite songs ever since she had met Killian. Little did Emma know, Killian felt the exact same way about the song. After Milah and Neal, the pair swore that they would never fall in love again. However, here they were on the evening of their second date so happy and so in love. This feeling used to scare both of them, but together now they felt no fear. It was truly undeniable that they belonged together and no matter what they would spend forever showing each other how much they cared.

As they finished their meal, they took the dishes to the kitchen and put the plates in the dishwasher. They refilled their wine glasses before they headed off to the living room to watch the movie Killian had picked for the evening.

"So Henry suggested we watch 50 First Dates tonight, but I don't know how the bloody hell Netflix works and I forgot to have him set it up before he left earlier," Killian said as they sat down on the couch in front of the tv.

"I think I can handle this one," Emma said with a laugh. She grabbed the remote to turn on the tv and then pressed a series of buttons that she needed to use to get the movie all set up. After the movie started playing, she snuggled in close to Killian as he wrapped his arm over her shoulders.

"Why the bloody hell does he have a pine-apple with him?" Killian asked sounding very confused at the movie. "And what's wrong with her again?"

Emma just laughed listening to Killian's commentary during the movie. It always amused her to expose him to things from the world that she knew because he was never quite sure how to handle the new information. She always took the time to explain it to him though because it made her happy. She had taught him how to use a computer and a cell phone. Slowly she was teaching him how to make Netflix work, except that wasn't exactly sticking in his memory, but he at least tried to make the effort to understand.

As the movie finished up, they no longer paying attention to what was on tv. Killian was gently stroking Emma's upper thigh with the side of his hook as his hand was caressing her face rubbing her cheek with his thumb and his tongue was exploring her mouth. Emma's right hand was caressing Killian's upper thigh as her left hand was gently stroking his side. Every so often they would come up for air with their foreheads still touching and looking deep into each other's eyes. Emma slowly started to move her hand further up Killian's thigh which resulted in a moan to escaping from his lips as they kissed. This led the kiss to deepen as Killian repositioned his hand from her cheek to the back of her head to hold her closer. Killian also moved his hook from her thigh to playing with the hem of her tank top and every so often brushing the cool metal against Emma's stomach which caused a shiver to shoot up her spine.

At one break in the kiss, Emma looked Killian in the eyes and said, "Maybe we should move this up stairs," in a very breathy whisper that increased Killian's arousal tenfold as he could only nod in agreement with her. Quickly the pair stood up and blew out all of the candles that were lit downstairs.

Once they were all out, Emma took Killian by the hand and slowly led him upstairs. As he followed her up the stairs, he watched her ass sway from side to side. He could not wait to have his hand and mouth all over her body.

They followed the trail of rose petals into the room and as Killian entered behind Emma, he quickly closed the door and grabbed Emma's hand to turn her around to pull her into his body. He backed her up against their bedroom door and kissed her deeply.

With one hand trapped by Killian's, Emma took her free hand and began to play with the hem of his t-shirt trying to indicate that she wanted to take it off. A hint that Killian understood, but he had plans of his own. He began to kiss down her neck, softly nibbling on his way to her collarbone. He moved his hand and hook to the hem of her tank top and began to slowly pull it up only breaking his kissing trail to pull it over her head. He threw it aside and continued to kiss down into the cleavage created by her black lace bra. In his mind he wondered if she was wearing the matching black lace thong he knew she had hidden in her underwear drawer. As he kissed his way back up to her lips, he reached behind her to unclasp her bra and toss it aside as well.

Killian took her hand and pulled her towards the bed still kissing her. They broke the connection once again to move the candles and the long stem rose off the bed quickly before they continued. After the candles were all set to the side, Emma quickly reached for the hem of Killian's shirt before he could kiss her again and pulled it up over his head before wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him close to feel his skin against hers. Killian wrapped his arms around her waist splaying his hand over the top of her ass. Deepening the kiss, Killian turned them around so that Emma had her back to the bed and he slowly continued kissing her as he leaned them onto the bed until she sat down. Slowly she began to lean back not wanting to lose contact with him. As Killian climbed on the bed with her, Emma slowly slid up the bed until her head was laying on the pillow.

He began to slowly kiss down her neck and down her collarbone again. With each kiss, he looked up towards her eyes making sure that she was still okay with everything that was going on between them. She watched him with big eyes biting her lip as he continued. Each time he looked up at her she slowly nodded her head to give him the okay to keep going.

He began to kiss down her right breast until slowly he took her nipple into his mouth as he rubbed his hook along her left side. Emma let out a soft moan as he bit down on her nipple just enough to gain her attention, but not enough to hurt. He repeated the same process on her left nipple with his right hand stroking her side evoking the same lovely sound leaving her lips. While he was paying attention to her breasts, Emma was running her fingers through Killian's hair.

He left her nipples and continued to kiss down her stomach to the top of her jeans. He looked up one more time as to ask permission. Emma looked at Killian and nodded giving him full permission to do with her body whatever he had in mind. He went to work unbuttoning her jeans and slowly pulling them off revealing the black lace thong he was hoping to find underneath her jeans. Killian smiled broadly at the view in front of him once he got her jeans off.

"Like what you see?" Emma asked innocently with a smile of her own. Killian nodded in response because he had no words to describe the gorgeous view he was enjoying. "Good. However, I think you have a few too many clothes on now, don't you think?"

Again Killian nodded and stood up at the end of their bed. She scooted forward on the bed admiring her handsome pirate standing in front of her. She got up on her knees and began to kiss him softly. Then she kissed down his neck and torso to the waistline of his jeans. Killian let out a moan of satisfaction as she trailed kisses down his body. Ever so slowly, she began to unbutton his jeans kissing every inch of skin that was showing as she pulled them down.

She was admiring the view in front of her especially the tent in Killian's boxers, since it was right in front of her face. After he had stepped out of his jeans that had pooled at his ankles, Emma went to work at the waistline of his boxers and began to slowly peel them down his body. She was making direct eye contact with Killian during the entire process. With a smile on her face, she resumed her trail of kisses now that his boxers were around his ankles. She slowly ran her fingers down his length which result in an incomprehensible phrase escaping Killian's lips. The tip of her tongue soon followed after her fingers.

"Swan," Killian gasped. Hearing him struggle to form words just encouraged her to continue her teasing. Once she reached the tip with her tongue, she opened her mouth and took his length deep into her mouth. Every movement she made was slow and deliberate. Killian's fingers were entangled in her hair and he was stroking her shoulder with his hook.

As his grip tightened in her hair, she began to pick up her pace and take him deeper into her mouth. Each sound that escaped his lips made arousal increase, making her want him more and more.

Killian released his hand from her hair and tapped her shoulder so that she would stop what she was doing with her mouth and move her body back up on the bed so he could return the favor and consequently take back control of the situation. Emma smiled at him as she saw the desire in his eyes as she slowly moved back on the bed. Once she was in position, Killian climbed up over her enough to pull down her black lace thong and toss it aside.

After she was naked, Killian leaned down and kissed Emma deeply while his fingers began their own exploration of the lower half of her body. With every gentle touch, Emma moaned and gasped into the kiss while trying to grind into Killian's fingers. Killian smiled into the kiss and took the grinding as a sign to move on to more than just the teasing.

Breaking the kiss only momentarily, Killian reached over to the bedside table to retrieve a condom from the top drawer. Ripping open the packaging with his teeth, he made quick work of sheathing himself with the rubber before repositioning himself over Emma's body.

"Fuck me, Killian, please," Emma asked in a raspy voice as she ran her fingers through his hair looking deeply into his eyes.

"As you wish, Emma," Killian said as he kissed her before sliding his length deep into her tight wet core.

They both moaned in pleasure. After a moment's pause, Killian began to move in and out of her slowly while kissing her deeply. Their tongues were exploring each other's mouths wildly. With each stroke of their tongues against each other, he sped up his pace.

"Killian!" Emma screamed as she reached her climax and not long after Killian followed suit with an exclamation of Emma's name during his own climax. He collapsed on top of her as they both tried to catch their breath.

Once Killian's breathing started to return to normal, he rolled onto his left side and put his right arm under Emma's head to pull her closely into his body. He kissed her temple as she cuddled in close.

"I love you, Emma," Killian said kissing her forehead.

"I love you too, Killian," Emma said with a smile. After a few minutes, she turned on her side to look at Killian. "I seem to remember you saying something about cupcakes," she said with hope in her voice.

Killian looked at Emma and laughed, "Aye. There are cupcakes downstairs. Would you like one?"

Emma nodded and laughed. So they got off the bed and Emma pulled on Killian's t-shirt and her thong while Killian pulled his boxers back on and grabbed her hand as they walked back downstairs to the kitchen. Killian walked over the fridge and pulled out the box that he got from Snow.

Taking one out to hand to Emma, "Here you are, love."

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

Taking a bite, she said, "These are delicious. Did you and Henry make these?"

Killian shook his head no since he had a mouth full of cupcake. After he swallowed, he said, "Your Mom made them for me. Henry texted her to ask and she said yes."

Emma smiled, "I'll have to remember to thank her the next time I see her and tell her how good they were."

Killian smiled at her. He was so happy that she had enjoyed the cupcake. He also couldn't help but notice how absolutely adorable Emma looked in his t-shirt.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked.

"You, love, and how adorable you look in my shirt. And especially about what we just did upstairs."

Emma blushed. She had been admiring the view of her shirtless pirate as well as thinking about their bedroom performance.

"Tonight was perfect, Killian," Emma said as she walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I loved every minute of it," she said with a kiss.

"I'm glad, Emma," Killian said with a smile. He noticed Emma yawning after they broke the kiss, but before she snuggled into his arms with her head on his shoulder. "It's getting late. Let's go to bed."

Emma just nodded and took Killian's hand as they walked back upstairs. They pulled back the covers on their bed and each took their respective sides. With one final kiss, they snuggled up close and were asleep in no time.

While Emma and Killian were having their perfect date, Henry had met up with Violet and given her the flower that he had picked out at the shop. The pair talked for a little and before they went their separate ways, Henry had managed to gather up the courage to ask her out.

"So Violet, I was wondering, if maybe," Henry said while looking nervously at the ground, "well maybe you'd want to go out on a real date with me?" Henry looked back up at her after he managed to get the question out before she left.

Violet smiled and nodded her head up and down, "Yes, Henry. I would love to go out on a date with you." She kissed his cheek. "Just text me the details, okay?"

Henry smiled and nodded, "Okay. Have a good night, Violet."

With that both he and Violet were headed home with a smile upon each of their face.


	4. Already There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes!
> 
> I greatly appreciate the reviews, favorites and follows on the last three chapters! I greatly apologize for the distance between the updates. I ran into a tad bit of writer’s block! I do hope you enjoy this chapter! This one is for my Outlaw Queen Fans!
> 
> Please SHARE, COMMENT, REVIEW, FAVORITE, FOLLOW, SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, and do whatever it is you readers do! It all really means the world to me! I read all of them and take them to heart!
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> 
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> Fanfiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12034662/1/Forever-and-Always
> 
> Song Recommendations for the chapter: From Where You Are by Lifehouse, Someone’s Watching Over Me by Hilary Duff, Hello by Adele, I’m Already There by Lonestar
> 
> Disclaimer: All of the episode references and brand titles do not belong to me. The characters are property of the producers, Adam and Eddie as well as ABC. All song references do not belong to me, they belong to the artists who wrote and performed them. All images were found using Google images. The only thing I hold claim to is the plot ideas of this story. I do not write for profit.
> 
> Please review! I really enjoy reading what you all think about it!

Alone in her thoughts was how Regina was spending most of her evenings since Robin’s untimely passing. It wasn’t the best way to spend her time, but it was all she could bring herself to do. When she wasn’t at the office researching the crystal, she was at her home in front of the computer trying to come up with a way to bring Robin back from the untimely fate that Hades had handed him. If she wasn’t glued to her computer trying to find a way to help him, then she was thinking about him and the wonderful times that they had shared. Even though thinking about Robin hurt, it made her smile to think about the conversations that they had which brought them together.

Robin: So are you gonna tell me what’s in that letter you’ve been staring at?   
Regina: What letter?  
Robin: This one? I’m a pickpocket by trade. I spent many years learning hot to rob from magicians.   
Regina: You’re lucky I’m saving my strength for that witch.  
Robin: I think deep down you actually want to talk about what’s in here.   
Regina: What makes you think you know me so well?   
Robin: Well, for one thing, I’d be charred to a crisp by now if you didn’t.  
Regina: True.

The conversation about the letter from her mother was the first time that Regina had ever been challenged by someone who lived a life completely opposite of her and making that fact very obvious to her, but also someone who was truly looking out for her best interest and safety. The fact that he cared so much without actually knowing her brought a smile to her face. Part of her had always thought that he was far too handsome to burn to a crisp just because he had managed to best her and get ahold of the letter she had been keeping a secret from everyone. 

Deep in thought about Robin and their relationship, Regina never heard the front door open and shut as Henry came in to check on how she was doing. 

“Hey, Mom!” Henry said happily as he entered the living room where Regina was hiding out for the evening. 

“Henry, hi,” Regina responded after she regained her composure from the slight scare of her son’s unplanned visit, “You scared me half to death. I didn’t know you were coming over so early this evening.” 

“Well after I finished helping Hook, I went and saw Violet a little bit ago, so I thought I’d come home and do some more research on the Olympian crystal for the night, I see you’ve already started your research.”

Regina laughed, “Yeah I have, but I haven’t gotten very far. How did it go with Hook?” 

Henry sat down beside her, “It went well, I think Emma is really going to love it. Do you mind if I give it a go?”

Regina nodded with a smile and her son took the computer from her lap and typed something into the search bar. Regina wasn’t sure what he had typed because she wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing because her mind had drifted back to Robin. 

No matter what she did, she couldn't take her mind off of Robin. Even though he was completely obliterated by the crystal and they had buried his lifeless body, she still felt his presence everywhere. Some days it felt like he was standing right beside her holding her hand as she walked. She would turn around to look for him some days when it felt like he was right behind her and he was nowhere to be found. Just the essence of his presence. 

There was one day when she thought she saw him, but it was just someone who had a similar build and facial features. She had shouted out his name and no one turned around. She just felt like a hand had been placed on her shoulder, but there was no one there. 

Little did Regina know that Robin had been there. His body was gone, but his soul never disappeared. When Hades threatened to attack Regina, Robin stepped in between the two which led to his death. Since he had sacrificed his body, it had been buried as though he never existed. However his soul was left to roam aimlessly among the earth. He was not sure how exactly any of this worked and he was hoping that Henry and Regina would be able to find a way to bring him back to life. The only problem was that they both believed him to be completely dead. They had no idea his soul was still around.

Robin was not sure how exactly the whole situation worked either. As soon as the lighting hit him and his body hit the floor, Robin was suddenly looking down at his own body. He was looking at a lifeless body and watching the tears stream down Regina’s face as she watched the lightning form of him disappear in a cloud of smoke. His spirit reached out to touch Regina’s face, but there was no reaction from her other than tears. She couldn’t see him, but he could see her. She couldn’t feel him, but he could feel her. He called out to her to let her know that he was still there, but she couldn’t hear him. It was a fate worse than death. He could see everything that was going on around him to the people he loved and cared about, but he could not do anything about it and that hurt him.

So far googling the crystal was coming up empty. All Regina and Henry could find was the history of the stupid thing. They found links to articles about people on which it had been used, but nothing about how to reverse its effects. 

Henry began to think that maybe their only option would be for him to rewrite Robin Hood's story. He knew that the apprentice had lied to him when he said there was no way to bring someone back from the dead, but he wasn't sure what would happen if he wrote Robin alive again. He didn’t know if he wrote Robin back to life, then maybe Hook would disappear again. That would bring him back to where he already was, jus with his other mother. 

The words of Mr. Gold floated into his mind, "All magic comes with a price." It was an eerie thought which made him shiver, but at the same time it was the only option that he thought that he had. Unless of course he could talk to Mr. Gold and see what knowledge he had of the crystal and how it worked. Unfortunately, no one had seen or heard from Gold since they returned from New York. 

Regina was starting to think that maybe time travel was her only option. She didn't want to dishearten Henry by giving up, but they just hadn't found anything that would work. She knew she needed to talk to Zelena, but she hadn't been seen or heard from since Robin died and she had taken baby girl Robin away with her. With Hades gone, Regina knew the baby was somewhat safe, but for the sake of the baby and her own sanity she needed to find her sister. 

Robin sat down beside Regina looking at the computer screen, he wished he could get a message across to them. He wanted them to look into spirits hanging around after their bodies have been buried, so that maybe he could understand what was going on. However he wasn't sure of the strength that he had. Robin decided that after Regina and Henry went to bed, he would try to use the computer himself to try and leave a clue to them as to what to look for or to let them know he was still around. Until then he hoped that no one made any rash decisions on what they were going to do because knowing the two of them, they had some over the top ideas to bring him back to life.

"So how's Violet?" Regina asked curiously while Henry stared intently at the screen. It weird for her to think of her son dating, but he was a growing young man so there wasn't much she could say against it. From what she knew about Violet, Regina thought she made a wonderful first girlfriend for Henry. It was nice to see him so happy. However at the same time, it was hard to think of her little boy growing up and venturing into the dating world. 

“She’s good. We are going out to dinner tomorrow night,” Henry said with a smile on his face. His cheeks blushed just slightly as he talked about his dinner plans with his mother. It was a new feeling that he wasn’t quite used to just yet. Although he figured that he better get used to it because he knew that Emma and Snow would have their own questions as well. Also, he figured that Hook and charming would have their questions, too. 

Robin sat on the couch beside Regina just listening to her talk with Henry about his love life and couldn’t help but smile. He wished he could join in the conversation as well. He knew that Henry was in good hands though. Charming and Hook made wonderful male influences for him, but he just wished he could be one as well. Every young boy should know how to shoot a bow and arrow, although, he knew that Snow could teach him how to do that almost better than Robin could.

“Somehow I need to tell them that I’m here,” Robin said to himself. He thought to himself about what he could do to get their attention, but he did not want to scare them. At least if he could communicate with them, then they could start looking into what could have possibly allowed his soul to stay behind and not disappear into the oblivion. 

Regina and Henry continued to scroll through the thousands of results that Google came up with about the crystal, but found absolutely nothing helpful. Sure they found information about Hades and Zeus. They even found articles that talked about Zeus threatening Hades with the crystal. They found out how the crystal came to be, but they couldn’t find anything that could help them bring Robin back. 

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Henry whispered softly. He ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He was frustrated with the lack of information that was available on the internet. Surely there should have been more online if only Henry knew where to look. The thought of going back to New York perked his interest. Maybe he could get back there one afternoon soon to look into those books a little bit more. 

“Don’t apologize, Henry. If we were meant to find something I’m sure we would have found it by now,” Regina said with a sigh. She knew how upset Henry was that they hadn’t found anything while they were looking, but she also knew that it was getting rather late and they both had a long day ahead of them tomorrow. The town census was scheduled to start at ten am sharp which meant they had to start setting up around eight. 

“Alright, I think it’s time that we give this research a break and head off to bed. Tomorrow morning is going to come awfully quick,” Regina joked with a smile. 

Henry nodded in agreement and kissed his mother on the cheek before he headed off to bed. 

“Good night, Mom,” he said with a smile as he walked upstairs. 

“Good night, Henry,” she said with one last smile as she watched him head upstairs. She sighed to herself as she slid the computer back onto the table. She just wished that Robin was here to kiss good night and then curl up in bed together. 

“Good night, Robin,” she whispered hoping that somewhere his spirit heard her voice. Suddenly she felt as though an arm was wrapped around her shoulder to comfort her. She shivered at the sensation.

“I wish you were here,” she said absentmindedly as she walked towards her bedroom. The smile slowly faded away from her face.

“Good night, Regina. I wish I could hold you all night long,” Robin said even though he couldn’t be heard. He glanced down at the table and an idea struck him. He opened up a new document on the computer and proceeded to put his idea into motion. 

Written on the screen to be found the next morning: “I’m still here. - RH” 

“Now,” he thought to himself, “it’s only just a matter of time.”


	5. Everyone Accounted For?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes!
> 
> Hey everyone! Thanks for being patient with me in my lack of posting. Just been having a tiny bit of trouble with story lines right now, but here is chapter number 5!
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story and please comment and review! I read them all and take them to heart!
> 
> Thank you for the kudos, likes, favorites, and follows as well!
> 
> Please take the time to check out my other work as well. 
> 
> Much love to you all!  
> ~starr

The shrill ringing from the alarm clock was not how Emma and Killian wanted to be woken up the morning after their date. Both seemed to forget setting an alarm the night before. With a groan, Emma rolled over onto her other side to turn the alarm off before she curled up into Killian’s arms for a few minutes before she absolutely had to get out of bed to start getting ready for the day. After a few minutes and some soft kisses, she rolled away with a groan and sat up.

“Good morning, love,” Killian said with a smile propping himself up on his side leaning on his elbow. “Did you sleep well?”

Emma nodded with a yawn as she stretched her arms over her head. 

“Yes I did,” she finally spoke. 

She leaned back to give him a quick kiss before getting off the bed, “Good morning to you as well. How’d you sleep?” 

“Better than I have in ages,” Killian said with a wink. 

Emma smiled and laughed, “You’re making it too easy on me to mock how old you are.” 

“I know, I know. Why are we getting up so bloody early again?” he asked rubbing his face with his hand.

“Today’s the town census and since I suggested it I have to be there. You just volunteered to help monitor everything, which is why you have to get up too. And if you get your lazy butt out of bed, you can join me in the shower,” she said with a wink as she walked towards the bathroom. 

Just as she got one foot in the bathroom door, Killian was standing right behind her wrapping his hand around her waist.

“Glady,” he answered with his signature smirk and a quick kiss on her cheek before following her to the shower. 

At the same time, Regina and Henry were busy running around trying to gather everything they would need for the day. Much to Robin’s dismay, neither one of them had taken the time to look at the laptop. Somehow he needed to get their attention to be focused on the laptop long enough to see his message. However since he didn’t know what strength he had, he had zero ideas to get their attention.

“Alright, I think I have everything. Henry, are you ready?” Regina asked as she gathered her work bag from the kitchen and walked in the living room to take one last look over the room checking that she had everything. 

“I’ll be down in one minute, Mom,” Henry answered as he finished getting ready upstairs. 

“Okay, I’m going to check my e-mail real quick before we leave.” 

Regina sat down on the couch and moved the mouse on the computer to wake it up. Much to her surprise, it was not the desktop that she was looking at. It was Robin’s note, but she didn’t know at the time that it was Robin who had left it. 

“Henry?” she asked extremely confused. 

“Yeah, Mom?” Henry said as he entered the living room checking his pockets one last time to make sure that he wasn’t missing anything where Regina was looking at the computer screen in shock. 

“Did you type this last night after I went to bed?” 

“Did I type what?” Henry started to ask as he walked up to the couch and saw what Regina had been staring at, “No, Mom. I didn’t type that. Did you?” 

Regina shook her head, “What does this mean?”

“I’m not sure,” Henry said sitting down on the couch beside her and placing his arm over her shoulder, “but we will figure it out. Together.” 

Regina smiled and leaned into Henry’s hug. She placed a quick kiss on the side of his head. Robin, who had been watching the entire ordeal, smiled as well.

“Now it’s up to them,” he thought.

Not sure how to take the news they had just discovered, Regina and Henry packed the laptop into Regina’s work bag and headed out the door to the office. They needed to get there early to get everything set up and Snow would be there as well. So maybe they could ask her if she knew anything about spirits being left behind. They both knew that Emma wouldn’t know, but she might know where to look for more information. As a last resort, they could always talk to Mr. Gold when he came to fill out the census paperwork as well. 

Donning her signature red leather jacket and he in his black leather jacket, Emma and Killian were out the door online a half an hour later than expected. Both of them with smiles on their faces beaming brighter than ever. 

“C’mon, Killian. We’re already running late,” Emma said as she reached for his hand to pull him along down the sidewalk at a faster pace than a leisurely stroll.

“Aye, but it was worth it. Wasn’t it?” Killian said with a wink as he took her hand in his trying to slow her pace down just a little bit. 

Emma blushed and smiled, “Of course it was worth it, but do you want to explain to my dad why we were late?”

Killian and Emma both burst out laughing as they walked. They both knew full well that David wouldn’t want to know why they were running late and in fact that he would point that fact out loudly if Snow even questioned why. His fatherly instincts had been kicking in big time since Emma and Killian started dating. 

Emma: You sure you don’t have other reasons for pushing me toward Neal?  
Charming: Like what?  
Emma: I don’t know, keeping me away from Hook?  
Charming: You think I’m interested in Hook? Emma, I’m a married man.

That conversation still made Emma laugh to this day. She knew that he just wasn’t sure Killian could be trusted with her heart just yet. It was nice to see however that her dad was adjusting to her being with Killian. He just wanted to see her happy and if Killian did that, then it was more than enough for him. 

Before entering City Hall, Killian pulled Emma in close to his body. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he spoke, “I just wanted to give you a proper good morning kiss.”

She laughed, “Didn’t you do that in the shower this morning?”

“No, that was a different kind of good morning. Now just shut up and let me kiss you.”

He pressed his lips against hers before she could speak as he smiled. He was soft in his efforts at first but then as he pulled her closer into him he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Just enough to deepen the kiss, but not enough to make a scene in front of City Hall. 

Pulling away with a smile on her face, “Good morning.” 

Killian smiled back, “Let’s get inside before David comes looking for us and finds us like this.”

Emma laughed and the pair headed into the building to find Snow, David, Regina, and Henry all hard at work getting ready for the activities of the day. David and Henry were setting up the queue lines so that there wouldn’t be a giant mob at the front table where Regina, Emma, and Snow would be sitting. Snow was running copies of the forms that they needed to get filled out, but she was unsure of how many copies to make since this was to get an idea of how many people actually lived in the town.

“How many people do the old records show, Regina?” Snow asked from across the room at the copy machine. 

“They don’t, that’s the problem,” Regina answered from the table where she was setting up a laptop so that all of the information could be digitalized instead of trying to keep track of the paper copies which would very easily get lost knowing how things worked in Storybrooke. 

“If I had to guess, I’d say there were maybe two hundred and fifty people living in our kingdom in the Enchanted Forest,” David chimed in as he and Henry finished what they were doing. 

Snow nodded, “That sounds like a good number. I’m just trying to figure out how many forms we’ll need.”

Killian cleared his throat which caused everyone to turn and look in towards him and Emma. 

“Emma, Killian! Good morning!” Snow said with a smile on her face as she collected her papers from the copier and walked over to where they were standing. 

“Good morning, Mom,” Emma responded as she gave her a quick hug followed by giving one to David as well. 

“Hey, kid,” Emma said as she wrapped an arm around Henry when he came up to her, “How’d it go with Violet yesterday?” 

Henry blushed briefly at the mention of Violet’s name before responding, “She’s good. We are going out on a date in the near future. I just have to set something up.” 

“If you need help planning, I owe you one,” Killian said with a smile. Henry blushed and nodded before quickly thanking him and secretly hoping that the subject would change soon. 

“Alright, so what else needs done?” Emma asked after the quick family moment was coming to an end asn as she noticed Henry blushing from the talk about Violet. 

“I think we have everything done except for who's doing what. I know the guys are going to be taking care of crowd control, so that just leaves the three of us,” Snow said. 

“Well, since I have the most experience with a computer how about I take care of typing everything in and then you two can help people fill out the form?” Emma asked. 

“Works for me,” Regina answered, “Remind me after this is all done that I have something I need to show you all on my laptop. Henry and I found something a little strange this morning before we left.” 

“We have a few minutes now, why don’t we look at it? Then if it's something we need to fix or think about, we’ll have all morning while we are watching people?” Snow said. 

Emma, Killian, and David all nodded in agreement with Snow, so Regina shrugged and dug her laptop out of the bag and opened the screen for all to see. 

There was a loud gasp and then everyone was silent. No one knew what to say in response to the message typed across the screen. Especially since none of them had ever seen anything like this.

“What does this mean?” Emma was the first one to break the silence that had overtaken the entire situation. 

Snow just shook her head with her hand still covering her mouth. David wrapped his arm around her and held her tight. Henry placed his hand on Regina’s shoulder and squeezed. Killian stepped closer to Emma and placed his hook on her waist.

“We have no idea,” Henry answered, “we hoped that maybe you guys could supply some answers, or that maybe we could ask Mr. Gold if he showed up today.”

Emma grabbed Killian’s hand and held tight. She knew how Regina felt after losing Robin because she had felt the same way when she lost Killian when she thought there was no chance of getting him back. That was until she found out from the wonderful Mr. Gold that there was a way to get him back. From that information alone, she dragged everyone to Underbrooke just to come back alone. That was until Zeus sent him home. As far as Regina knew, there was no hope to see Robin again. At least not until today. Deep in her heart, Emma hoped that this was going to be a good thing for Regina, but at the same time she knew there was the possibility that nothing could be done.

“I think that asking Gold will be our best bet for right now, but if he doesn’t have a way to help us then we can ask the all knowing Google,” Emma said as she placed her free hand on Regina’s shoulder, “We will help you figure this out.”

“Thank you,” Regina said simply trying not to cry thinking about the possibility of Robin coming back, but she also knew deep down that there may be nothing they can do. 

Robin was watching the entire situation go on. Part of him wanted to start sending them more messages right that second, but the other part of him knew that right before the town census was not exactly the best time to be doing such a thing. He decided that he would wait until this afternoon to try and have a conversation with them using Regina’s computer.

“So from the sounds outside the door it seems like people are ready to get started with this craziness today. Are we ready in here?” David asked. 

“Yeah, we’re ready,” Regina answered as she pushed her laptop shut, “we can work on this later.”

With that being said, Killian, David, and Henry walked over to the door to start letting people join the line inside to start filling out the census paperwork. Emma, Regina, and Snow were seated at the table with smiles on their forced faces while their minds were all miles away from what they were doing right now. Robin stayed behind where the girls were sitting with a gentle hand placed on Regina’s shoulder as she worked. 

As the morning progressed, Regina and Snow were greeted by many friendly faces of the residents of Storybrooke that they knew and loved, and many faces that they did not recognize at all whom they assumed were from the Land of Untold Stories. Each of them with their own questions that no one truly had the answers for. 

“Have we ever done one of these census things before?” 

“Where are we?”

“Why are we doing one now?”

“Who are you?”

“Who are these new people that keep coming into the dinner?”

“How did I get here?”

“Where is Gold?”

“Have you found that Mr. Hyde man?”

Some of the questions they could answer though. Especially Granny’s because she offered to bring them lunch from the dinner. 

The questions seemed to never stop until low and behold Mr. Gold walked in the door holding Pandora’s box in his hand. When he entered the room, everyone stopped talking just to turn around and look at him. No one said a word to him, they just looked to see him standing there. After a few minutes of awkward silence, the chatter continued as normal. 

Much to Emma, Snow and Regina’s relief Mr. Gold was one of the last people that they needed to have fill out their information besides Belle of course, but since they knew where she was, they were guessing that he would be filling out her paperwork as well. They only other person they thought were missing was Mr. Hyde, but they had no idea where he could be hiding out and frankly they didn’t want to know at this point.

“Hello, Gold,” Regina said as he walked up to the table and placed the box down. 

“Hello, Regina, Miss Swan, Snow” he answered coldly grabbing the pen laying on the table in front of him and began filling out one of the forms. 

“How are you doing?” she asked calmly watching him fill out the paperwork.

“I’ve been better seeing as my wife and future child are currently living in this box. How about you?”

“Future chi-,” Snow started to say before Regina spoke again.

“I was doing okay until I found out that you handed my town over to a monster split from his body.”

“Oh you found out about that did you?”

“Yes I did, not long after I returned from an impromptu trip to New York to bring my son home because he wanted to destroy magic.”

“It was the only way I could get the antidote to wake Belle up, since true love’s kiss didn’t work and her damn father won’t do it for me.”

“That doesn’t mean you can hand my town over to some whack job!”

“Regina,” Snow piped in trying to defuse the situation before it got too far out of hand and that Mr. Gold possibly wouldn’t help them with their other inquiry.

“Yes, I know I need to calm down,” Regina sighed in defeat, “actually we could use your brain a moment if you have the time.”

“Oh really?” he inquired, “Why is that?”

“Yes. I, uhm, received a message from who was, to the best of my understanding, dead. In fact we buried his body before the adventure in New York.” 

“I see. Do you have the message?”

“Of course, I was hoping I got the chance to talk to you today, so I brought it with me.”

“Well, I don’t have all day. Let’s see it.”

Regina rolled her eyes are Mr. Gold’s tone, but reached down to grab her laptop from under the table as Emma continued to type a way on the other machine entering in the information they had gotten so far today. She opened the computer and turned it around for him to see. 

He stared at it for a few moments before quickly saying, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Oh,” Regina sighed in destain. 

“Wish I could have been of more help, but I really must be going,” Gold said picking up his box before walking away from the table.

“Thanks anyways, Mr. Gold,” Snow said as she placed a hand on Regina’s shoulder. 

He raised his hand over his head as a way to say goodbye and walked out of the door. 

“Well that did us a lot of good,” Emma said sarcastically as Killian walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder before kissing the top of her head.

“Aye, or maybe he has seen it and doesn’t want to help us,” he said. 

Emma nodded in agreement and shrugged, “Maybe. We should try typing back and see if we get a response. If he really is still here, maybe he is following you around.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Regina shrugged before typing on the screen.

Robin, is that you?

“Let’s see if he answers,” she said softly. Soon right before their eyes the cursor started to delete Regina’s text and types it’s own. 

An audible gasp came from everyone’s mouths as David and Henry walked up to the table. 

“Moms. Grandma. What’s going on?” Henry asked before he saw the screen.

Yes, Regina. I’m here.

“Oh my god,” Regina said as a tear trailed down her cheek. 

The cursor moved again. 

Don’t cry.

This caused her to cry harder and everyone placed a hand on her in support. 

“What are we going to do now?” Snow asked. 

“We are going to find a way to bring him back,” Emma said, “we just need to look for a way how. It's what we do.” 

Everyone agreed and sat in silence for a little while longer.

“Let’s get this cleaned up, so that we can all go home and try to figure out what’s happened today,” David said calmly trying to wrap his mind around the events that had transpired in the last fifteen minutes, “Hook, wanna help me with the queue and getting it put away?” 

“Aye,” Killian answered. 

“I’m going to take the rest of these forms home to finish entering them so I’m not here all evening,” Emma said gathering the forms and laptop she was working with up. 

Regina and Snow nodded. As Emma stood up, Henry took her seat to comfort Regina as the shock of what was happening on her screen was still setting in. 

“Mom, let’s head home. Grandma, Mom, Hook, and Grandpa can clean up here, right?” Henry asked looking at everyone, even though he already knew what the answer would be. 

“Of course,” Snow answered. 

Regina nodded, so Henry packed up her laptop and helped her up from the chair. 

“Bye everyone,” he said before they walked out the door with his arm around Regina. He decided that he would text Violet when they got home to set up their date for another night next week. His mom needed him right now. 

Not long after Regina and Henry left, the others had everything cleaned up that needed to be put away and met in the middle of the room. 

“That’s everything,” David said wrapping his arm over Snow’s shoulder looking between Emma and Hook. 

“Yes it is,” Snow said deep in thought about everything that had happened that afternoon. 

“Did anyone see Zelena and the baby?” Emma asked thinking back over the people she had seen and who she hadn’t while she was sitting at the table. 

Both Snow and David replied, “No.” 

“That can’t be good,” Killian added.

“Just another adventure in the world of Storybrooke,” Emma said sarcastically, “Let’s go home. It’s been a long interesting day.”

The others nodded and hugs goodbye were exchanged. Both couples headed out the door and went their separate ways for the night holding their loved ones tight. 

Not far outside of Storybrooke, mass chaos was still being caused by an angry woman in a purple and silver dress who kept looking for “that damn Snow White” and “the bitch who thinks she can survive without me.”


	6. A Night of Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am so sorry it took me over a month to update. Life has just been a little crazy lately and I'm trying to write around it. But hey! At least I got you something to read along with posting a few one-shots too! This chapter is Outlaw Queen and Operation Mixtape. Don't worry CS will be the main characters for a chapter again soon, I promise!
> 
> R&R love always,   
> ~starr

Regina and Henry arrived home after their slow silent walk from City Hall. It took all of Henry’s efforts to get Regina to cross the threshold because she was still so freaked out by what she had read earlier this afternoon on her screen. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for all of this to become a reality.

“C’mon, Mom. You’ll feel better once you get inside, get a nice hot bath, and have a nice cup of tea before bed,” Henry pleaded taking her hand in a desperate attempt to pull her inside. He had already been in the house to set the computer bag down before he returned to his pleading attempts.

After fifteen minutes of Henry begging her to come inside, she sighed softly and walked in the door. She felt like an empty shell moving through the motions of life. Robin was following close behind her, his heart hurting at seeing her like this. He hated seeing her broken. This was not the woman he had fallen in love with. She looked the same, but her fire was not there. He knew that revealing himself to her by typing messages on a screen was not the best idea, but it was the only thing that he could think of and it made everyone know the truth. He now needed them all to figure out what was going on with him.

“Why don’t you go upstairs, take a long bath, and relax before trying to get some sleep? I can handle making something for us to eat and then bring it to you after your bath,” Henry suggested to Regina with a soft smile on his face hoping that just relaxing would help the shock to her system. He needed to see some indication of the mom he knew was in there somewhere.

She nodded her head as she walked up the stairs towards her room. Her mind was spinning in circles. She had grieved for Robin’s death and now he was still here. She had dealt with sending Roland back to the Enchanted Forest for his safety. How was she supposed to explain that to Robin? What if Roland came back to Storybrooke? How could she tell him that his father was still here. This was all too much. She couldn’t wrap her mind around what was going on at all, but she was going to make sure that she found out a way to logically explain this all.

“Henry?” she called before she walked into her room. She needed her laptop for after her bath, but she wasn’t sure where Henry had put it when they came home.

“Yeah, mom?” he answered stepping away from the cupboard he was searching in for something to make for dinner.

“Could you bring my laptop upstairs when you get a chance? I want to do some stuff for the office before I fall asleep. I can’t fall behind when we’ve just been invaded.” 

“Sure thing. I’ll bring it up with dinner. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine. Thank you, Henry.”

She smiled to herself as she walked in her room and stripped off her dress walking towards the bathroom. She was so thankful for everything that Henry had done for her today and every day. When she didn’t have the words to say, he spoke. When she just wanted to cry, he comforted her. When she needed a friend, he was always right there. She knew that he was just doing it to help her cope right now, but she was eternally grateful to him.

While the water for her bath ran, Regina focused on getting the mood in the room set just right. She lit a few small candles and picked out a bath bomb. Dropping the bath bomb in the tub, she went in search of her iPad to put on some music to relax to. Upon finding the perfect song, she submerged herself into the red and orange water and thought about her day and the craziness that had taken it over. 

She thought about her reaction to finding Robin’s message. She didn’t know whether to cry or scream. She thought about Gold’s avoidance to her questions. Something was going on and she was definitely going to find out what.

Downstairs, Henry was busy cooking dinner and texting Violet. He wasn’t sure whether or not he could call her his girlfriend yet since they hadn’t truly been out on a real date yet. He made a mental note to ask her to be his girlfriend at the end of their date. He hoped she would say yes, although he had to ask her on the actual date first. 

Henry: Hey :) How was ur day?  
Violet: Hey :) Mine was good, urs?  
Henry: Crazy. The census took all day.  
Violet: That suks.  
Henry: Yah. Wanna go 2 dinner 2morrow?  
Violet: Sure. Wat time should I b ready?  
Henry: Ill pick u up at 7.   
Violet: Ok. :)

Henry couldn’t help but smile. He was officially going on his first tried and true date. He was finally going on a date with his perfect girl. Violet was pretty and smart. The perfect combination for him. With that combination he figured there wouldn’t be that awkward silence he had heard about happening on other people’s first dates. He was really excited to get to know her better and dinner was going to be the best place to start building a relationship. Maybe if dinner went well the could end the date with a walk through the park or down by the docks. He knew that Emma and Hook talked about a lot important things at the docks. It would be the perfect place to ask Violet to be his girlfriend. All of his excitement about tomorrow reminded him of the conversation he had with his mom and Hook while they were looking for some place that Emma and Hook could be alone for a little while in Camelot when he still wasn’t quite ready to admit that he had feelings for Violet. 

Hook: How did you turn up such a refuge, lad?  
Henry: Well...there’s this girl.  
Killian: Is there, indeed? Well, I like this tale already.  
Henry: I-it’s not like that. Her name’s Violet. She brought me here. The stable belongs to her family.   
Emma: So you two are getting close?   
Henry: N-not at all. We’re just hanging out.   
Violet: Hello? Who’s in there?  
Henry: That’s here. Hide. Hide! Go on.   
Violet: Henry! What are you doing here?   
Henry: I was wondering if you’d be interested in taking me riding.   
Violet: Yeah. I’d love to. Come on. I’ll introduce you to Nicodemus.   
Henry: That your dad?   
Violet: No, it’s my horse. I hope you’re ready to get your heart racing. Come on. 

Henry would never be able to forget that ride. He had an amazing time. He couldn’t remember a time where he had laughed so hard and smiled so much before he went on that ride. He got to spend time with his favorite girl as well as ride a horse for the first time. He was finally starting to feel like royalty. He knew it ran through his veins, but he never really felt like it was who he was. Other than the few times he practiced sword fighting with his dad and grandpa, he never really felt like he was meant to be a prince. He was starting to understand how Emma felt before she believed and had actually become a part of the story book.

About half an hour had passed and Regina’s muscles had become much less tense, even though her mind was still worked up from her afternoon. She had a plan though. A plan to figure out more information with or without Gold’s help. She was going to use the internet to see what she could find out about trapped souls. That was the only thing she could figure had happened to Robin. She was going to find a way to help him if it was the last thing she did.

Slowly she climbed out of the tub and reached for her towel. She felt a presence nearby. She knew who it had to be. Well she hoped it would be anyways. She didn’t want to know if there were anymore spirits following her around. It would be quite concerning if she did. She let out the breath she had held as soon as she felt someone else in the bathroom with her. She need to calm her nerves before Henry came back upstairs.

She got dressed, walked into her bedroom, sat down on her bed and flipped on the tv for background noise. She would have gone mad if she sat in complete silence tonight. Before she got the chance to call downstairs to Henry, he came walking in the door with a smile on his face. In his hands were her dinner and laptop. She couldn’t help but smile back at him. 

“Thanks, Henry,” she said taking the tray from his hands and setting it in front of her on the bed. 

“You’re welcome. Feeling better?” he asked curiously as he took a seat at the end of her bed looking at her to try and gauge her emotions.

She nodded. Her nod brought back the smile to his face that had dimmed when he sat down.

“What are you smiling about?” she asked as she began to eat her dinner. It made her happy to see him smile.

“I didn’t realize I was smiling,” Henry laughed, “I was just texting Violet while I was making dinner. So I guess that would be part of why I’m smiling. The other part would be that you are doing at least a little bit better.” 

His response brought a small smile to her face as she asked, “How is she? Violet, I mean.”

“She’s good. I asked her out on a date tomorrow night actually.” 

Regina couldn’t believe her ears. Her son had asked a girl out on a date. Her baby boy was going out on his first date tomorrow night. Just a few short days ago, she watched him have his first kiss. He was growing up so fast. She wondered if Emma and Hook knew about his plans for tomorrow. It made her smile that there was a slight possibility that he had only shared it with her, but at the same time she had an inkling suspicion that at least Hook already knew. She wouldn’t embarrass him by asking, however.

“That’s great, Henry,” she said with a smile, “Any idea what you are going to do?”

“I’m going to take her to Granny’s for dinner and then maybe we’ll go for a walk in the park or down by the docks,” he told her as he cheeks started to hurt from smiling so much. 

“That sounds like fun. I’m sure you’ll have a great time.”

They both sat in happy silence with smiles on their faces. Both thinking about their plans for the evening. 

Breaking the silence was the soft buzzing coming from Henry’s pocket. Both he and Regina started laughing. There was a soft shade of pink starting to appear on Henry’s cheeks and it just made Regina smile bigger.

“Go back to texting her. I’ll be fine. I’ve got my laptop and food. I’m all set for a relaxed evening at home. Thank you for everything, Henry. I love you,” she said softly rubbing his arm to urge him off the bed, “Just don’t stay up too late, you have school tomorrow.” 

Henry smiled, “Good night, Mom. Love you too.” 

He got up off her bed pulling his phone out of his pocket as he stood. The smile on his face made it obvious who the message was from. Regina chuckled to herself. He was typing away furiously on his phone as he walked out of the room and shut her door. 

As soon as Henry had shut her door, Regina pulled her laptop onto her lap and slowly opened the lid. Her mind was still racing a mile a minute. Her heart was beating so hard she could almost hear it like a drum outside her window. She wasn’t sure she was ready to have a conversation with the spirit of her recently deceased lover. The whole idea still freaked her out, but she knew that she needed to do this. No matter what happened with this conversation, she had to attempt to keep her cool. It would either bring her closure or it would open up an old wound with a million new questions. Although she could feel the tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes. She decided that tearing that old wound open was what she needed to do. Carefully she opened a new document on her computer and began typing. 

Robin, are you here? I felt your presence a little while ago.

She held her breath and waited to see if he responded. It wasn’t until the cursor started moving that she finally released that breath. Her release was in the form of a sob. As the first letter appeared on the screen, the first tear dropped from her eye. 

Yes, Regina. I’m here and yes that was me in the bathroom. How are you doing?

Robin just watched Regina as she took in his answer and as the realization of what was happening washed over her face. The confusion and happiness were very apparent on her face. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders to comfort her, which he watched add to her confusion of emotions. However, he didn’t remove his arm. He needed to reassure her that this was real.

Are you sitting beside me now?

Yes. I have my arm around your shoulders. Do you want me to move my arm?

Furiously shaking her head no as a sob wracked through Regina’s body and the rest of her began to shake. She had thought she felt something on her shoulders, but she didn’t know what it could be. Now that she knew, it made her even more emotional. She didn’t know what to think of the situation, but she was happy to have him with her, however at the same time he wasn’t truly there. 

Please don’t cry. I can’t dry your tears like I want to. 

How are you still here? Hades said your soul was obliterated. He made it sound like there was no hope for you to still be here. I don’t understand. I thought this was an impossibility. 

I don’t know, love. I haven’t found anyone else that I could ask. I am hoping that you can figure out what is going on with everyone’s help. I don’t understand it either. But we both know to never underestimate the impossible. 

Well, everyone but Gold. I think he was hiding something from us. However that’s nothing new for him.

Agreed, but until we know what. I’m sure this typing box can be helpful. 

Regina nodded as the tears finally stopped flowing down her face and she finally started to relax. She laid back on her bed and pulled her laptop up beside her to continue their conversation. 

I miss you.

I’m right here, Regina. I won’t leave your side. I promise.

She felt the tears welling up in her eyes again. She tried to blink them away, but all that managed to do was have them fall on her pillow. She was happy to have Robin back in her life in some way, but at the same time it just wasn’t the same because she couldn’t hold him and have him feel her touch the same way that she could feel his right now. They spent the night messaging back and forth until she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Settled back in his room laying on his bed, Henry was happily texting away with the lovely Violet. He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have her in his life. The smile on his face reminded him a lot of the smile Hook was wearing while they were getting ready for the big date yesterday. He hadn’t missed the smile on both Emma and Hook’s face this morning when they got to the office this morning either. Since he was thinking about it, he decided to shoot Hook a message to see how everything went. 

Henry: So I take it from the smile on ur face 2day, last nite went well?

After quickly sending the text off to Hook, he went back to texting Violet. 

Violet: So should I wear anything special 2morrow?  
Henry: Anything u wear will b perfect. U always look beautiful :)  
Violet: Awwww. Ur sweet :)  
Henry: Only 4 u :)   
Violet: :*

Henry blushed as her text message appeared on his screen. The only kiss they had ever shared was in front of his moms outside of Granny’s. That was not exactly the location he pictured his first kiss happening, but he wasn’t going to complain about the great kiss. He definitely couldn’t wait to experience that feeling again. It made him feel lighter than air, at least he did before he turned around and saw his moms smiling at him. The buzzing of his phone drew him back out of his thoughts of that afternoon. 

Hook: Aye. It went very well. Things go well w/ Violet?  
Henry: Yup. We r going out 2 dinner 2morrow nite.  
Hook: Granny’s?  
Henry: Yes. Then I was thinking we’d go 4 a walk.  
Hook: I will keep Emma and your grandparents away from there then.  
Henry: Thx Hook.   
Hook: Youre welcome. Night Henry.  
Henry: Good Nite. 

Henry was very grateful for Hook’s offer to keep his date free of at least one of his moms as well as his grandparents. He had almost forgotten that his entire family ate almost every single meal there. He knew that if they could get away with it, they would be there to watch the whole evening and he definitely didn’t want that happening. He just wanted a peaceful evening with Violet. Although the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that maybe Granny’s wasn’t the best place if he wanted them to be left alone. He shrugged off the thought and decided it would be best if he texted back Violet before she got too suspicious of him disappearing. They exchanged text messages until Violet told him that she was going to get some sleep. He decided he should follow suit. 

Outside the city line of Storybrooke the Evil Queen’s chaos had finally subsided as she looked at the welcome sign. She had finally arrived at her destination and she was ready for war to begin. The first thought to run through her head was that she needed to find her wonderfully wicked sister and form a bond of evil that could be used to take over this little town and get revenge on her worser half. 

“Beware Regina, I’m stepping on your turf,” she said with a cackle as she crossed over the line and walked towards the farmhouse that Zelena and baby Robin were playing house in for the time being, “You’re in for a world of trouble.”


	7. Lullabies & Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating! Its been a crazy month! I've been working on a lot great creations, like the opening of the Storybrooke Cafe (18+) facebook group! PM me if you are interested in more details! 
> 
> I wanted to make sure I got a chapter out to you before the start of NaNoWriMo since this is the story I will be working on for it this year and may not get a new chapter out in November. 
> 
> Song Recommendations: Only one song this chapter and its because it is the lyrics to it inside. A Perfect Lullaby - Matt Logan and Elisabeth Tinnes
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot!
> 
> Love always and R&R!
> 
> ~starr

A loud knocking at the door woke Zelena up in the middle of the night. She rolled over and looked at the time. Sighing as she got out of bed.

"Who on earth is knocking at this ungodly hour? Don't they realize I have a baby that I desperately want to sleep through the night?" she muttered to herself as she tied her rob shut while walking to the front door. The incessant knocking getting louder as she got closer and off in the distance through the house she could hear the waking whimpers of baby Robin rousing from her slumber. Hoping desperately that she wouldn't wake up.

"Lovely...whoever this is better have a damn good reason for waking a sleeping baby," she fumed as opened the door, "What could you possibly…"

She froze when she saw the very familiar face of her late night visitor.

"Regina?" she managed to stutter looking at the figure on her porch up and down in utter confusion.

"Hello, Zelena," the figure said with a smirked, "Not exactly. I'm the better half."

"Better half? What are you talking about?"

"At least invite me inside, dear. Then I'll tell you the whole story."

"Oh, right. Come in," Zelena said stepping aside still highly puzzled as to what was going on.

The Evil Queen strode in the house with pride. One item off her checklist. She walked directly to the dining room and sat down at the table. Zelena shook her head as she closed the door and walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a kettle and glasses, then walked into the dining room to find Regina.

"Tea?" she asked setting down the kettle and cups. Regina nodded. With the swish of Zelena's hand, the kettle whistled and she picked the kettle back up and poured them each some tea. After handing Regina her glass, Zelena sat down and took a sip out of hers.

"So as I was saying, you were half right when you called me Regina," the Evil Queen answered taking a sip of her tea. Zelena nodded in agreement, still very confused at what exactly was going on with her sister.

"After Regina and the others found out that Jekyll's potion could separate the good from the evil, Regina decided that she couldn't stand to always be fighting to do the right thing with her inner turmoil always telling her what I would do instead, pathetic I know. So she decided to take the potion while in New York and we became separate people. I couldn't help but laugh when she crushed my heart though because she thought it would kill me. However as long as she lives, I will always live," the Evil Queen said with a smirk.

"So she separated the only part of her that was like me from her body and tried to destroy it?" Zelena said slowly as she wrapped her head around what had just been said as the tears began to fall, "How could Regina not tell me?"

The Evil Queen cackled and tossed her head back while watching the sadness overtake Zelena's face as she realized that the only family she had besides baby Robin had hidden something from her. This was the Evil Queen's favorite part of her day. Breaking the hearts of the people that mean the most to Regina was what brought her the most joy. Her smile beamed even brighter when she thought about how many more people she could cause pain.

The tears continued to roll down Zelena's cheek when the Evil Queen had stopped cackling. She looked her sister up and down with a frown upon her face.

"Stop blubbering. You now have me, so you don't need her," the Evil Queen snapped at her, frustrated with the crying.

At that point the soft whimpering from baby Robin had become full blown crying. Zelena wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up from the table.

"Where are you going?" the Evil Queen asked, "And what is that noise?"

"It's my daughter," Zelena answered, "Your knocking woke her up and then your cackling upset her."

Zelena walked away before the Evil Queen could respond to go quiet her daughter. The Evil Queen just rolled her eyes as she watched Zelena walk away.

Meanwhile at the Snowing household, Snow and Charming were just getting home from the office after stopping by the Blue Fairy to pick up baby Neal.

"I wonder where Zelena was today. I know she came back with us from the Land of Untold Stories, but I haven't seen or heard from her since," Snow pondered aloud as she walked in the front door of their apartment gently rocking Neal back and forth.

"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing she will make herself known again. Besides, the Blue Fairy said that Zelena has dropped off and picked up Robin every day," Charming said pulling the door shut behind him softly as he entered their apartment.

Snow smiled as she looked down at baby Neal in her arms. She had really missed him today. She kissed the sleeping baby softly on his head and looked up at her husband who was watching the two of them with a smile.

"I'm gonna go put him down," she said giving Charming a quick kiss on his cheek before heading off to the nursery.

Charming nodded as he watched her walk away. It had been a long day for all of them seeing old friends coming into the Mayor's office. They had also seen a lot of new faces, but deep down he knew that since they hadn't seen Hyde there were still more people hiding out somewhere in town waiting to be found. If only he knew where to be looking.

In the distance he could hear Snow singing a soft lullaby to lull his son off to a peaceful sleep. He smiled as he walked towards the nursery and stood in the doorway, watching the two of them. She never realized he was standing there as she sang.

"How was I supposed to know, just how perfect you would be. My love grew with your little heart, a miracle it seems to me," she sang sweetly as Neal's eyelids flutter trying to fit the sensation of sleep that was quickly over taking his little body. She smiled as she watched him trying to fight it and sleep finally taking over as he nestled his tiny head into her arms.

"Good night sweetheart," she said as she kissed him one more time before laying him down in his crib. She gently tucked him in and cradled his head one last time with her hand before turning around to leave the room.

"David!" she shout whispered scared by seeing Charming standing in the doorway, "How long have you been standing there?"

Charming couldn't help but laugh as quietly as he could to avoid waking his son at Snow's reaction.

"Long enough to hear your lullaby. Why? Was I not supposed to hear that?" he chuckled wrapping his arms around Snow as she approached the door after regaining her breath from the slight scare he had caused her.

Snow nuzzled in close to her husband and laughed, "No, you could hear it. I just thought you were in the other room."

Charming kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tight, "Let's make something for dinner. I'm starving."

Snow nodded in agreement, "Yes please."

They walked hand in hand out of the nursery towards the kitchen and began the hunt for something to make for dinner. Upon finding something, Snow put the noodles on to boil and Charming went ahead and began chopping the vegetables they needed. The whole scene being the most domestic they had ever been.

"So why do you think Hook and Emma were late this morning?" Charming asked aimlessly as he chopped away at the vegetables in front of him.

"David," Snow said simply with a wary look upon her face.

"What? I'm honestly curious."

Snow just shook her head as she answered her loving husband knowing full well he wouldn't like the answer, "Think about it. They had a date night last night and it was at their house. Killian had Henry help him plan the whole evening. They cooked her dinner and even picked out a movie to watch. Plus they had a special dessert Why do you think they were late this morning?"

Charming shook his head furiously, "No, no, no. I don't want to think about that! Why would you put that thought in my head?"

Snow just laughed, "You asked for it."

Charming just continued to shake his head as he thought back over the first date that he had witnessed of his only daughter with the pirate.

Emma: Okay, Killian. We should get out of here before David decides to give you his overprotective dad speech.

Killian: Well you can save yourself the trouble, I assure your daughter couldn't be in better hands.

David: That's exactly what worries me. Especially now that you have two of them.

Emma: I can take care of myself.

David: Are you sure you don't want me to drive?

Emma: Bye.

"I knew I should have driven them for that first date," Charming said with a grimace on his face as he remember Hook's smirk that night as they walked out the door. Snow just laughed even harder.

"What would you have done? Sat in the restaurant at a nearby table and waited for them to be done?" Snow managed to ask between fits of laughter.

"I'd have sat at the table!" Charming exclaimed very proud of his opinion on the subject, not taking the time to realize how pathetic he sounded.

"Come on, David. She's a grown woman, not a teenager just getting introduced to boys. You know she had to have sex to bring Henry into the world, don't you? And you love Henry"

"I know, I know. I just don't want to think about my daughter having sex, even if she is full grown."

Charming ran his hands through his hair, "I sound pathetic, don't I?"

"I was waiting for you to point it out," Snow said as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thanks," Charming said as he looked down at her and brought his arms to her waist.

"I love you," Snow said as she stood on her tiptoes to give him a soft kiss. Charming responded in turn adding a little more force to the kiss as his tongue ran along her bottom lip. Snow parted her lips enough for his tongue to slip inside as their kiss deepened.

Hearing the sound of boiling water hitting the coil on the stove broke the two of them apart. Sharing a soft smile between them, they each went back their respective jobs to finish making dinner.

Each of them lost in thoughts about their daughter and her pirate. Charming trying to shake the thoughts of her being in a grown up relationship and living with the man she loved. Snow was thinking about how happy Emma had been since she and Hook got together.

Back at the farmhouse, Zelena had finally gotten Robin to go back to sleep after singing a simple lullaby. The Evil Queen could barely contain her disgust at the motherly nature Zelena was a natural at displaying.

In fact, she had to walk out of the room when Zelena started singing that stupid little song.

"All the riches in the world, may not fall into your hands. Life won't always treat you fair, but stand you will to its demands. I can't promise you a diamond ring, or a castle in the sky. But I will give you all my love and a perfect lullaby," Zelena sang softly as baby Robin drifted off to sleep.

"There, there little girl. Mommy will see you in the morning," she said with a soft kiss to her head as she placed the baby back in her crib.

"Done?" the Evil Queen asked begrudgingly.

"Yes," Zelena answered as she pulled the door shut to the nursery.

"Good. Now let's talk about how we can ruin Regina's happy little world. Especially since she thinks I'm dead," the Evil Queen said as she led Zelena by the hand back to the kitchen table where they could chat.


	8. Water Fights & Visions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello loves! I thought that since I finished NaNoWriMo yesterday that it would be nice of me to post an update since it has been almost a month since you last got one. Like I promised before we'd see more of Captain Swan and this chapter is full of them. There is a lot to come with this story and I can't wait to share it all with you as I get the chapters edited.
> 
> If you happen to enjoy my writing and like Harry Potter, you should definitely check out starrnobella's Christmas Countdown when it goes live on Thursday. Each day will be a new story with a new pairing from the Harry Potter universe.
> 
> A house keeping note: I changed my tumblr url, so instead of livingdreamsandunspokenthoughts it is now starrnobella. Much simpler in my opinon.
> 
> I have created a Once Upon A Time Fanfiction group on Facebook if you are interested in joining. It is called Storybrooke Cafe (18+). Super new group and still trying to get it off the ground.
> 
> Song Recommendations for the chapter: Time of Dying by Three Days Grace, I'll Be by Edwin McCain, and In My Dreams by Ruth B.
> 
> I do hope you enjoy and as always please Read and Review. Those reviews are what keep me writing.
> 
> Love to all!  
> ~starr

"Today was just a little crazy, don't you think?" Emma asked as she and Killian walked up the front steps of their home, hand in hand. Both mentally exhausted from dealing with people all day.

"Aye, love. Those message Regina showed us were a little spooky. Don't you think?" Killian answered as he opened the front door. Emma smiled as he held the door open and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before walking in the door.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure what to think about them. It's great that Robin is still here somewhere, but I don't know how we are going to get him back and I really don't want Regina to get her hopes up, just to find out we can't save him," she added hanging up her red leather jacket in the hall closet, "Hungry?"

"Famished," Killian nodded, "But first…"

He took Emma's hand and pulled her to his chest, wrapping his left arm around her waist pulling her in close. He cupped her cheek with his hand as he gently pressed his lips to hers. Emma wrapped her arms around his neck. Killian moved his hand from her cheek to the small of her back. His tongue softly gliding along her bottom lip. A soft moan escaped her lips as his tongue slipped inside. As the kiss deepened, their embrace became tighter. Time seemed to stand still.

Finally stopping for a breath of air, Killian leaned back slightly looking Emma in the eyes and said, "I've wanted to do that all day, but I don't think Dave would have appreciated it very much."

Emma tossed her head back as she laughed, "Yeah, I don't think he would have liked to see a kiss like that happening right in front of him. I don't think he likes seeing just a quick little peck between us."

Killian chuckled as he spoke, "So I've noticed."

Emma smiled and quickly kissed him on the nose before letting go, "What are you hungry for?"

"You," Killian said cheekily as he smirked, "But I'm guessing you didn't mean that."

Emma rolled her eyes as she walked towards the kitchen. _Such a smartass_ , she thought. _Two can play at that game though_.

"I'll be dessert!" she called out nonchalantly as she walked away from him, adding an extra sway to her step. She knew full well he was watching her very intently as she walked, so she wanted to make the show was worth it.

The grin on his face grew into a full smile when he heard what she had said. Even more ideas started to flash in his head of what he could do with her once he got her upstairs. As the thought of her naked and pinned beneath him on the bed flashed through his mind, his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. When he saw the name on his phone, he tried to erase the thought from his mind. He knew it probably wouldn't be a good idea to be thinking of Emma in bed with him while reading a text from Henry.

Henry: So I take it from the smile on ur face 2day, last nite went well?

Killian smiled to himself. Apparently their happiness with how last night was noticeable to more than just them. If Henry noticed, then Dave definitely noticed. That was going to be a fun conversation to have the next time he saw Dave without Snow as a buffer. Killian shrugged the thought off, as he walked into the kitchen to find Emma.

"Would you say last night went well?" he asked he walked into the kitchen. He found Emma cooking something on the stove. She jumped when he first spoke, which brought a grin to his face which he tried to hide when she turned around to look at him.

"Geez, Killian. You scared me!" she yelled with a glare that quickly decipated into a smile before answering his question.

"Last night was wonderful. I think it went amazingly well. Why do you ask?"

"Henry was just checking in," Killian replied, "I thought it went very well, too. I just wanted to know what you thought."

Emma smiled. She knew how badly he wanted everything to be perfect last night and in her honest opinion, it was the best date she had ever been on. Not that she had been on many dates to begin with, but it was one that she would never forget.

Everything had been better than she could have ever imagined and it warmed her heart as she thought about how Killian had taken the time to get help from Henry in planning the whole evening. Everytime she walked past the vase of roses in the entryway, she smiled and stopped to smell them. Even if she had just walked through there five minutes earlier, she made a point to stop and smell them again. There was a big part of ther that wanted to come up with a way to preserve them forever. She would have to talk to Regina about it to see if it was even possible. It had to be. She couldn't come up with a reason that a preservation spell on flowers could cause major issues in the universe.

Killian texted Henry back and made sure to check on how his talk with Violet went. Happy to hear that everything was going well for him, Killian bid him goodnight and slipped his phone back into his pocket before bringing his attention back to Emma.

"What are you making, love?" he asked walking over to her to peek over her shoulder at what was on the stove. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he kissed her shoulder.

She tipped her head back and rested it on his shoulder before she answered, "Macaroni and cheese. It's really good."

He kissed her temple and asked, "Why is it gold?"

Emma laughed, "That would be the cheese. I just need to make sure that it is all melted. Grab some bowls for me?"

With one more kiss on her cheek, Killian walked over the cupboard and grabbed a set of bowls. Emma turned off the stove and dished out the food. She and Killian sat down to enjoy a meal together and talk about their day. Especially about all the people that they had and hadn't seen.

"So how is Henry doing?" Emma asked as they cleaned up from dinner.

"He and his lass have a date tomorrow evening," Killian said placing the dirty dishes in the sink for Emma to wash off.

"Really? Where are they going?"

"To Granny's for dinner and then out for a walk. Probably down by the docks if he is anything like you with where he likes to get away for some alone time."

Emma laughed. Killian was probably right. Henry loved the docks almost as much as she did. Part of the reason he loved the docks was that it reminds him of Neal especially after he and Killian had talked about Neal the day when Henry was unaware of what was going on after the second curse.

_Henry: The more you guys tell me about my dad, the less it makes sense. I don't wanna learn how to navigate. I just wanna hear something about him that doesn't make him sound like he's made up so I'll like the guy._

_Killian: Your mother isn't keeping things from you because she doesn't want you to know the truth._

_Henry: I know...I know...she's doing it to protect me, but how am I supposed to feel anything about him being gone if I don't know what he was like when he was here?_

_Killian: Fair enough, mate. What I haven't told you is why I taught your father to sail. Because he'd just lost his father. I thought the sea would help ease his sorrow._

_Henry: You mean he lost his dad too?_

_Killian: Aye. Something dark and evil. When he wasn't much older than you._

_Henry: Really?_

_Killian: Indeed. You see you might not think you know much about your father, but you have more in common than you realize._

Emma wasn't thrilled that Killian made the decision to tell Henry she'd been lying to him about knowing these people and everything that had been going on in Storybrooke, but at the same time she was so impressed at the way he had taken Henry under his wing and showed him that there was more between him and Neal than just the DNA that ran through him. Not that it was a substantial thing to have in common, but it gave Henry something to hold onto for time being until he got his memories back.

"Dinner at Granny's seems to be a favorite of our family," she joked.

"Yeah, it does. Which is why we aren't eating there tomorrow night," Killian responded quickly, chuckling as Emma's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean we aren't eating there tomorrow night?"

"I promised the lad that I would keep you and your parents away from Granny's so that he could have his date in peace."

"Looks like you and Henry have really been bonding lately. What all did you two talk about yesterday?"

Killian smiled, "That's for me to know and you to wait for Henry to tell you."

Emma splashed him with some water while she was washing the dishes. She started laughing as she watched him attempt to dry his face off with his arm, so she decided to splash him again.

"Hey now," Killian growled as he stepped closer to the sink and grabbed a handful of water throwing it at Emma, "Two can play at this game."

Emma squealed and splashed another handful of water at Killian. He then followed suit. This continued for a few minutes. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma spied the sprayer and got an idea. Quickly she reached out, grabbed it, and aimed it at Killian.

"Truce or I shoot," she said extending her other hand to him as an agreement to the truce.

"You wouldn't," Killian answered eyeing Emma's trigger finger warily. His hand still in the water with a handful ready to send flying. If only he could get a read on how serious she was, then he would know whether or not she would actually spray him.

"Do you really want to find out what I wouldn't do?" Emma asked raising her eyebrow as a wicked grin grew on her face. She wished that she had thought of the sprayer earlier. That really would have caught him off guard.

Killian slowly pulled his hand out of the water and shook Emma's hand, "Truce."

Emma smiled as she released the sprayer and squeezed Killian's hand. He pulled her in for a quick kiss before she pulled back before he could deepen it anymore.

"After," she whispered softly as she touched her forehead against his, "Let me get these dishes washed, then we can go to bed."

Killian smiled and kissed her quickly on the forehead, "Okay. I'll be waiting."

As Killian walked away, Emma took the sprayer out and shot him. When he felt the water on his back, Killian turned around very quickly with the look of utter shock upon his face.

"Really, love?"

The only answer Emma could give was a fit of laughter. Seeing the joy on her face made Killian smile. He couldn't even be mad at her for the silly little prank she had pulled. The smile on her face didn't allow him to be remotely upset at what she had done.

"I'll get you back, love. Just you wait," Killian said before backing away slowly.

"Promises, promises," Emma chimed as her focus returned to the dishes in front of her. Luckily she was almost done with them and could return to her pirate. She hadn't wanted to leave their bed this morning, but she had a job to do. She was sheriff of this town after all. She needed to know who was and wasn't living in town. However, with the late hour that it already was, she decided that the remainder of her typing could be done the next morning. Besides, they were still missing quite a few people they knew and probably a few they didn't.

After she dried her hands, she went in search of Killian. She knew he had left the kitchen, but she wasn't sure where he went after that. It didn't sound like there was any noise coming from the living room, so she guessed he had gone straight upstairs to get ready for bed. She smiled to herself as the thoughts of finding him half naked, or completely naked, lying on their bed began to fill her mind.

Oddly enough, she did find a half naked pirate in her bedroom. However, by the time she had gotten upstairs, Killian was already asleep. It hadn't taken her that long to finish up the dishes after their little water battle, but it had been long enough for him to fall asleep. She couldn't blame him for falling asleep once his head hit the pillow. It had been a long day for both of them. She chuckled quietly to herself and quickly changed into her pajamas. She slipped in beside the sleeping pirate and rested her head on his chest as she drifted off into dreamland listening to the beating of his heart.

Killian's original plan for the evening, even at the late hour that it already was, did not involve falling asleep before Emma came upstairs, but as soon as he had changed into his pajama bottoms and laid down on the bed he was out like a light. He didn't even realize he was that tired, until his head hit the pillow. He had felt the bed shift when Emma had joined him, but he was so far into dreamland that he did not wake as she snuggled in close to his chest. Something in his mind led him to wrap his arm over her shoulder to pull her tight to his side.

As Emma slept, her dreams became more and more life-like. It seemed as though she was in the middle of a fist fight with a dark figure. The figure never revealed its face as she fought. At one point the figure managed to knock her onto the ground as was hovering over her as it pulled out a sword from somewhere on it's body.

Before the dream could continue, she jolted awake and sat up almost immediately. Her entire body wouldn't stop shaking.

The sudden movement in bed beside him caused Killian to wake up. He saw Emma shaking as she wrapped her arms around her body holding herself tight.

"Swan," Killian said cautiously as he sat up and placed his arm over her shoulder to pull her into his chest, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Emma shook her head furiously. She didn't know what was wrong. All she knew was that whatever she was fighting in her dream was about to kill her and she was left defenseless on the ground, watching it happen. She tried to bury her head deeper into Killian's chest as the sobs started to take over her body. He squeezed her tighter as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Shh, it's alright, love. I've got you," he spoke softly. He brushed his hook along the arm that was lying in his lap as she cried. He rubbed her shoulder with his hand.

"Everything is okay. It was just a dream."

Emma began to shake her head even harder when he called it a dream. She took a deep breath as she leaned away from his chest.

"It didn't feel like a dream," she said shakily, "It felt more like a vision into the future."

"What happened, love?"

"I'm not sure. I was just having a normal dream about...well...you and I, when all of the sudden I started seeing myself physically fighting with a dark figure. Just before I woke up, the figure had knocked me to the ground and pulled out a sword as they were just looming over me."

Emma started to cry again as she leaned her forehead back into Killian's shoulder. Killian gently kissed the top of her head as he tried to sooth her.

"It's okay, Emma. I'm right here. I won't let anyone hurt you," Killian whispered. He continued to whisper it over and over again until her breathing began to calm back down.

"I'm sorry I woke you," Emma sniffed as she looked up at Killian and saw the worry in his eyes.

"It's alright, love. Isn't that what boyfriends do? They comfort their girlfriend when she is scared or worried?" he asked calmly as he stroked her back he continued to soothe her.

Emma nodded with a small smile, "Yeah I guess so. Neal and Walsh were the only real boyfriends I had. Not that either ever did much comforting, so I wouldn't know for sure."

Killian laughed, "I take it you are feeling a bit better?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Thank you."

Emma leaned to give him a soft kiss, gently pressing her lips to his as she brought her right hand up to cradle his cheek. Killian leaned into the kiss as she brought her lips to his. He slid his arm tight around her waist holding her in close.

He stopped himself before he carried on too far. After the fright she had tonight, he knew that she needed to get some sleep. He slowly pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.

"As much as I'd love to continue this, I think we both need to get some more sleep," Killian mewled, desperately wanting to continue, but he had to think of Emma's needs.

Emma sighed softly, "You're right."

She snuggled back down under the blanket on her right side and backed up against Killian's side causing him to laugh quietly to himself. He slid himself down to lay beside her and rolled to his side placing his hand under his pillow and pulled her in close to his body with his hook as he draped it over her side.

All snuggled in close, the pair drifted back to sleep. A dreamless sleep for both of them.


	9. Misplaced Attention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello everyone! So I wanted to let you know that I will be updating this fic on the 29th of each month, except February which will be on the 28th. I'm quite a few chapters ahead in writing this, so it gives me a chance to work on some of my other stories as well. I do plan on writing a lot more for the Once Upon A Time fandom, but this one has my heart and soul for the time being. 
> 
> This chapter gets a little sexy at the beginning so I hope you enjoy that. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot of this story. All quotes from the show belong to Adam and Eddie who have so graciously gifted us this amazing fandom. 
> 
> Song Recommendations: Kiwi - Maroon 5; Battle Scars - Paradise Fears; Here in My Arms - The Sunstreak
> 
> I have spent all of December posting Harry Potter fandom stories leading up to Christmas if you are interested in reading more of my work. They range from cute and fluffy to a little bit smutty. I also have a very angsty Harry Potter fandom story that I recommend reading the author's note and trigger warnings before you read and review, if you would like to check that out. 
> 
> As always, if you enjoy the chapter please consider leaving a review and I will see you again here next month! :) 
> 
> Love always,   
> ~starr

Dawn crept in their bedroom window unannounced slowly dragging Killian and Emma out of their very restless sleep after the visions of the night before. No matter how much they tossed and turned however, their hands remain interlocked tightly together as a reminder that no matter what vexed either of them, they would always fight it together.

Both of them laid there, eyes wide open staring at the ceiling, quietly waiting for the alarm to sound telling them that they had to start their day. Moments before the alarm was about to ring, Killian squeezed Emma's hand tightly as he rolled onto his side to face her.

"Anymore visions, love?" he asked quietly as he kissed her shoulder, almost afraid to know the answer.

Emma shook her head as she turned to look at Killian. She could see the worry in his eyes and the fact that he was worried about her brought a small smile to her face. She wasn't used to someone caring about how she was feeling or even worrying about her from time to time for no reason at all. A part of her could really see spending the rest of her life with him, since of the two of them she's the one to have an end date written in the stars. The other part of her was just afraid to open herself up to getting hurt again.

"Nope, no more visions. I'm not sure I actually slept at all. What about you?" she questioned.

"I can't say I slept very much either," he responded, "What are your plans today?"

Emma sighed as she thought about the amount of paperwork that needed to be done to finish tallying the results of the census and the fact that they haven't found Hyde or any sign of him whatsoever.

"Well, I need to finish typing up the stuff from the census to see who we may be missing that we know where to find them to collect what we need. Then I need to add it to the computers at the Sheriff's office so that we have our own copy along with the Mayor's office. Then I guess we need to start looking for Hyde or at least clues as to where he is, plus seeing if we can find out who didn't come to the Mayor's office yesterday," she huffed as she rolled onto her back before sitting up in bed.

"What about you?" she asked looking back over her shoulder at him with a smile.

He smiled back at her as he sat up and leaned over, placing a quick kiss on her lips, "I was thinking that I could lend a hand at the Sheriff's office if you and Dave wouldn't mind."

"I know I wouldn't mind the extra help," she said with a smirk.

She leaned over and placed one more quick kiss on his lips before she got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. He just watched her walk away, entranced by the sway of her hips. She closed the door quickly behind her once she got inside.

About twenty seconds after the door closed, it opened again, the sound catching Killian's attention. He turned and found Emma's head and bare shoulders peeking around the side of the door into the bedroom. He raised his eyebrow as he looked at the sneaky grin on her face.

"Wanna join me?" she asked playfully watching the cocky grin spread across his face as he jumped out of bed and hurried over to where she stood.

Wrapping his hook arm around her waist, he quickly shoved the door shut behind him as his lips crashed into hers forcefully. His hand caressing her cheek as his tongue slipped into her mouth and began to wrestle with Emma's, playfully at first and then driven with more and more passion.

Her arms fell from where they were wrapped around his neck and her fingers began to explore his exposed skin. Gingerly her hands travelled down his chest feeling every twitch of his muscles as she touched him. Soft gentle fingertips moving their way down to the top of his flannel pajama bottoms. She brushed her fingers along his hardening cock hidden behind his clothing.

A soft moan escaped her lips as his hand caressed her breast forcefully. He smiled at her response and made sure to give similar attention to the other one as he alternated which one had his hand's attention. The coolness of his hook against her lower back added a new level of sensations that she was not anticipating. Tweaking her nipples gifted him additional moans and sighs escaping her lips as he did his best to deepen the kiss. He desperately wanted to be inside her. Unbeknownst to him, Emma had ideas of her own.

Breaking the kiss, she slowly dropped to her knees grabbing ahold of the tops of his pajama bottoms and boxers, pulling them down to pool around his ankles. Starting with a kiss just below his belly button, she began to trail kisses along his happy trail, tracing her fingers along his legs from his ankles to his groin. Once her kisses met her fingertips, she began to trail kisses up the length of his cock. As she reached the tip, she began fluttering kisses all around the sensitive skin. A guttural moan escaped his lips the moment he felt her tongue begin to trace the intimate details of his arousal.

He reached his arm down to pull her up before she could take him into her mouth. As she rose, she quirked her eyebrow at him as she spoke with her lips pouted, "Didn't like that?"

"Of course, I liked it, but..." he whispered as he took her hand and led her towards the shower kicking his discarded clothing aside, "I would much rather start the morning with your legs wrapped around my waist as I'm sheathed inside you as your body is pinned up against the shower wall, with water cascading down against my back. Listening to you moan my name as I bring you to an earth shattering orgasm."

Emma smirked as she followed along very close behind the naked Killian. Her free hand had found its way to his ass giving it a squeeze as they went. He turned on the shower quickly and pulled her back into him as he crashed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss. As he pulled away to head into the shower, the smile on Emma's face couldn't have beamed any brighter.

Slowly sliding the door to the shower shut behind her, Emma did her damnedest to tease Killian just a little longer in the shower, but it was to no avail. He picked her up and slammed into her core. Wrapping her legs around his waist for support, she was able to wrap her fingers in his hair. He picked up his rhythm and kissed her deeply. Both of them enjoying the warmth of the water falling on them and the company in the shower first thing in the morning.

Donning her favorite jeans and a tank top, Emma went downstairs in search of coffee. The one thing guaranteed to wake her up in the morning. Although sex with Killian was a damn good way to start the day. She could really get used to this arrangement. Especially when Killian volunteered to cook breakfast while she got dressed. Although she couldn't quite make out the scent of whatever it was he was making for her today. It smelled kind of fishy and she got concerned because she didn't remember buying fish when they were at the grocery store. With a shrug of her shoulders, she headed downstairs to find what he had made.

"Killian?" she called as she landed on the last step of the stairs and headed towards the smell, "Whatcha makin?"

She smiled when she found him standing in front of the stove stirring something with a steaming cup of coffee sitting beside him. She needed one in her hands too. She decided that she needed was a hot cup of coffee before she could really function, no matter how good the sex was. So she walked over to the pot and poured herself one.

"Eggs, bacon, and a side of mackerel," Killian answered proudly and chuckled when he sensed the disgust on Emma's face at the idea of fish for breakfast before he added, "Don't worry, the mackerel is just for me. You aren't accustomed to my kind of breakfast just yet."

"And I never will be," she laughed, "so the eggs and bacon are all for me?"

Killian shook his head, "No, love. I'll have some too. I haven't been eating like a true pirate for a while, so I can only dine that way in small doses."

Emma laughed as she grabbed a set of plates from the cupboard and handed them to Killian. Before she would release the plates, she leaned in to give him a quick kiss and then let him fill up their plates. Then they sat down at the table and enjoyed the wonderful breakfast that Killian had made. They talked back and forth more about the results of the census and what that meant for the hunt of Hyde that Emma, Charming, and Killian would be going on that afternoon.

After finishing their food, they quickly cleaned up quickly so that they could get out the door to the office. Hopefully they would beat Charming there so it wouldn't be another awkward situation like it was walking late into the census.

"Ready to go?" Emma asked as she put the last of the breakfast dishes away.

"Aye, love," Killian answered with a smile.

They both stopped at the hall closet grabbing their respective leather jackets. Emma smiled as she put on her favorite red leather jacket as she thought about the conversation she and Killian had had the first afternoon in the new house when they were making out on the couch in the living room about his attraction to her red leather jackets.

_Emma: Oh wait. What about Henry?_

_Killian: He's with Regina._

_Emma: Okay. Wait. What about my parents?_

_Killian: They have no interest in walking in on this. Believe me._

_Emma: Mmm, my red leather jacket.._

_Killian: No, it's fine._

_Emma: Really?_

_Killian: Yeah, I like the red leather jacket._

Both donning their jackets, the couple was out the door with one more kiss before they went off to start their day. They walked hand in hand to the office where they found it Charming free.

"At least we aren't late today," Killian smirked as he watched Emma move about the office trying to sort out the census paperwork that still needed typed into the computer.

Emma laughed, "Yeah, there's always a first time for everything." She smiled at him as she turned on her computer so that she could get one small thing out of the way before they went out for the day.

Killian made himself comfy on the couch that sat in the office near Emma's desk and watched her type. She was so quick with what she was doing. He was lucky he understood the cellular device that she made him carry enough to make phone calls and send relatively simple text messages to Henry when he needed something from the lad, let along the box device she was using now.

About fifteen minutes later, Charming came walking through the door with a bag from Granny's in one hand and a cup carrier in the other.

"Good morning, Emma. Morning, Hook," Charming said rapidly with a smile on his face when he saw Emma already hard at work, "I brought some coffee and pastries. I wasn't sure if you were coming in this morning, Hook. So I bought extra just in case. You can never have too much coffee in my opinion."

"Hey Dad," Emma responded, "How many cups of coffee have you had already this morning?"

Killian and Emma both quirked their eyebrow as they looked at Charming. He seemed to have more energy than the two of them combined and he had a baby who still wasn't quite sleeping through the night just yet living at home. He should be far more tired than the two of them.

"One or two," Charming answered, "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. You seem to have lots of energy this morning. Wasn't sure if is was coffee related or not," Emma shrugged as she went back to typing.

David shrugged as he responded, "Must have just been really tired last night after we got home and fell straight to sleep. Didn't wake up at all until the alarm rang this morning. How are you two this morning?"

"We are doing well. We both fell asleep pretty quickly last night too," Killian answered. Emma looked over her shoulder to urge him not to say anything about her visions to Charming. Not yet. Killian nodded discreetly in her direction. He knew she wasn't ready to talk about it.

"Our coffee must not have been as strong as yours," Emma joked turning her attention back to Charming, "Alright. All of the census data has been typed into the computer. I'll send it over to Regina and Snow in an email."

Emma clicked away on the computer making sure that everything was saved and then typed up a quick email, sending it off to the Mayor's office.

"I figure we can stop by and let them know it's there before we head out in search of Hyde," she added and then paused momentarily, "And it's sent. Where do you think we should look first?"

"Maybe we should start at the town lines and work our way in," Charming suggested. They really hadn't gone out to look for Hyde at all yet. They were hoping that he would have shown up at the census just to show himself off. That would have been the easiest solution. Unfortunately they never seemed to be that lucky.

Hyde knew that they were looking for him, so he wasn't about to make their job any easier. Especially if it meant that he was going to be locked up in a cell. The more Emma thought about it, the more she knew she needed to think like she did as a bail bonds person. She needed to get inside his head and think like him. She just wasn't sure how to do that when she didn't have a file to read up about Hyde like she did for her other cases. Then the idea struck her.

"We need to go to the Author's house," Emma announced. Killian and Charming looked at her confused. They weren't entirely sure what she meant by going to the Author's house.

"What do you mean?" they asked in unison.

"The Author is currently Henry. So are you talking about your house or Regina's?" Charming asked with a puzzled look upon his face.

"No, no," Emma shook her head as she spoke, " The Author's mansion where the portal to Arendelle was. We need to find the start of Hyde's story. I needed to be able to think like him to figure out where he is hiding. Or we need to make another trip to New York back to the library where Henry went when he planned to destroy magic."

"What about the library here in town?" Killian asked.

"The books in our library are about the people who are already here, not the ones who are new here. I remember Henry talking about the books he found in New York and how he didn't recognize the stories, but the cover was identical to his storybook. I need to talk to Henry," Emma mumbled as she began to gather a few things from her desk.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Charming asked.

"No, I'll be okay. Why don't you go and look along the city lines? Killian, can you go with him?" Emma requested.

"Aye, anything you desire love," Killian answered with a soft smile. This would work out great. Now he could asked Dave if it would be alright for him to stop over later this afternoon to have a word in private with him and Snow. That way he could start putting Operation Swan into motion.

"Thank you," Emma smiled as she walked up to Killian and softly kissed him, "I'll meet you both back here in like an hour, okay?"

Killian nodded and looked over at Charming, "That gives us time to start at the town sign and work our way in about half way through the woods. Right, Dave?"

"Yeah, it'll be more than we've searched so far," Charming laughed, "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you, Emma?"

"I'm sure. It's just Henry. Besides it'll give me a chance to wish him luck on his date tonight," Emma smiled.

Killian laughed as the surprise took over Charming's face.

"He has a date?" Charming asked.

"Aye, with the lovely Violet," Killian responded.

"Maybe I should be the one to go see him. Give him some advice," Charming protested.

Emma shook her head as she spoke, "No. You are going to go with Killian and see what you can find along the town line. I am going to go see Regina and Snow to let them know that the census data is in and then I'm going to go see Henry."

Charming sighed, "Okay. Let's go, Hook. See you in an hour, Emma," Charming said as he grabbed a cup of coffee and a bear claw, gave Emma a quick hug and headed for the door.

Killian kissed Emma one more time, "Bye, love. I'll see you later."

Emma smiled as she watched Killian walk away. Nothing could go wrong, they could take care of themselves. As long as both of them came back in one piece, everything would be fine. Emma just shook the thoughts out of her head because she had enough to worry about right now with the visions. She grabbed her coat and was out the door not long after Killian and Charming had left.

As Killian and Charming were walking towards the edge of town, they were each lost in their own thoughts rather than talking to one another which was probably for the best.

Killian was so focused on how to go about bringing up his need to talk to Charming about something very important. He was so distracted that he walked straight into Charming, who had stopped to look at something on the ground.

"Whoa," Charming said as he looked at Killian over his shoulder, "Watch where you're going."

"Sorry about that, mate. Must have been lost in thought," Killian answered shaking his head, "Why did you stop?"

"Look at these tracks," Charming responded pointing to the ground, "Don't they seem out of place to you?"

Killian examined the prints, "Aye, who or what do you think they belong to?"

"I'm hoping Hyde. Let's see where they go," Charming declared

"Dave, wait," Killian said grabbing Charming on the shoulder, "I need to talk to you about something. Something relatively important."

_Finally_ , Charming thought.

"What's up?" Charming inquired with a look of concern as he turned to look at Killian.

"Actually, I need to talk to you and Snow about something important. Preferably alone," Killian stated with a serious tone to his voice, "Can I come by this afternoon to speak with you both?"

Charming looked at Killian slightly puzzled, but he nodded as he spoke, "Sure. I'll let Snow know when I meet her for lunch."

"Thanks, Dave," Killian said, "Alright, let's see where this trail leads."

Charming nodded and started to follow the trail of mysterious footsteps into the woods. Killian walked alongside him on the opposite side of the footsteps.

Meanwhile, Emma had just arrived at the Mayor's office and was stepping through the door as she overheard Snow and Regina talking, frozen in place as she listened to what they were saying.

"What do you mean you spent the night talking to Robin?" Snow asked.

"On the computer. I was typing messages back and forth with his ghost, I guess," Regina responded, "What's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing, it's just a little weird, don't you think?"

"Well, yeah. But what else can I do? It's not like I can actually talk to him. This is the only way I can talk to him and I'm taking full advantage of it."

"Doesn't it get frustrating?"

"Look, I miss him. I haven't found any way to bring him back. We can't all get as lucky as Emma and Hook."

"Regina."

"What? It's not that I'm not happy for her, but it stings a little bit. She lost Killian and we all went to find him, but we all can't go to find Robin."

"But Emma didn't ask for him to come back. She had to leave him in Underbrooke. She still had to mourn his loss."

"Not for very long. Ugh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, it's okay. Jealousy is a natural thing to feel. But don't you think you should deal with the feeling?"

Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of course it had crossed her mind that Regina wouldn't be okay with Killian coming back from the dead and Robin not being able to, but she never thought about how upset it made her feel. She really needed to figure out a way to bring Robin back. She had to make this right. No matter what it cost her.

However, first she had to make herself known. She inhaled deeply and released the breath as she walked in the door.

"Hey Mom. Regina," Emma said coldly as she walked through the door.

"Emma!" Snow exclaimed, the surprise obvious on her face, "Hey! How are you?"

"How long have you been standing outside the door?" Regina asked hanging her head slightly avoiding Emma's gaze.

"Long enough," Emma answered looking from Regina over at her mother.

"Emma, I'm sorry," Regina started to say before Emma cut her off.

"Don't. You have every reason to be jealous. Why should I get my happy ending back and you lose yours? I'm the Savior so I should be able to save everyone, right?" she sneered.

"Emma…" Snow pleaded.

"What? She's right. How is it fair that without asking I got Killian back? Robin was just saving Regina and now he's stuck living between worlds. But the thing is, Killian came back for what he did in helping us defeat Hades. It was Zeus that sent him back, not me wishing," Emma snapped at Snow and then turned to Regina, "I get it. You're jealous, but maybe you should be a little more careful about where you decide to have these conversations and not have them where you can have visitors walking in at any time. What would you have done had Henry or Killian walked in?"

Regina hung her head as she listened to Emma talk. She knew that Emma was right. There was no way she could take back what she said, but at the same time Emma was wrong too. It was her office. She should be able to have any kind of conversation she wants in her office without worrying about who's feelings she may hurt.

"I understand where you are coming from, Emma and I'm sorry that what I said has hurt your feelings. But I will not apologize for the fact that you overheard what I said. What I said is my true feelings that I should not have to hide. It isn't fair at all that Zeus was able to grant Killian's return, but has no way of helping Robin," Regina responded with a tad bit of a nasty tone in her voice. It was far more apparent than she had truly meant it to be.

Emma shook her head in disbelief at what Regina was saying to her, "Have you talked to Zeus to see if there was anything he could do to help Robin?"

Regina shook her head in response.

"That's what I thought. Look, I just stopped by to tell you that I emailed you the rest of the information from the census. I'm going to go talk to Henry. I need to see what he remembers about the storybooks he saw in New York to see if I can find any information about where Hyde might go to hide. I'll see you later," Emma huffed as she turned on her heels to walk away.

"Emma, wait," Snow called looking to Regina trying to urge her to say something that would make Emma feel less guilty. All she got from Regina was a shrug. There was nothing she could say to fix this situation, and she knew it.

"I'll see you later, Mom," Emma sighed as she walked out the door. She didn't hang around to hear what was said after she left. She walked out of the building and sent a quick text to Henry.

Emma: Hey kid. Meet me at the castle. Bring the book.

Once it was sent, she made her way to the castle. Henry's favorite place in all of Storybrooke.

Meanwhile, back at the office. Snow was busy yelling at Regina.

"Why did you let her walk out of here? She didn't deserve the guilt that you put on her! Don't you think she already feels guilty enough? She didn't even want to bring Hook back to the diner after he had come back out of respect for your loss!" Snow barked at Regina as she just hung her head listening to everything that Snow was saying.

Getting no response, Snow sighed, "Please say something. It'd be nice to know what you are thinking."

"I'm not mad at Emma. Or Hook. Or Zeus. It just seems easier to place the blame on them, I guess," Regina finally groaned looking up from the ground to Snow's face.

"Then who are you mad at?" Snow asked thoughtfully. There was hope to save this absolute disaster before anyone else could get hurt by what has been said.

"Zelena," Regina replied, "I blame her for Robin's death. I'm actually happy that we didn't see her yesterday."

"So why didn't you tell Emma that? Instead of making her feel guilty that Hook came back!" Snow retorted exasperatedly.

Regina shrugged, "I don't know, okay? What she was saying wasn't wrong, I did feel that way, but that's not why I was so upset. I don't know why I couldn't tell her what was going on."

"You need to tell her what's going on," Snow said as she placed a caring hand on Regina's shoulder, "She'll understand. Of all the people in this town, she'll understand."

Regina nodded, "I will. However she's off to talk to Henry right now and she didn't seem to want to hear from me, so let's look over what she emailed us about the census and see who we need to have the sheriffs track down."

Snow nodded in agreement and they began to look through the information that Emma had sent.


	10. Missing Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I thought I would give you all a present this month and post early! I've been sitting with the chapter ready for days and it's been killing me not to share, so here it is! :) 
> 
> I want to give a special shout out to RhizOneill for reviewing every single chapter of this story! I always look forward to the email coming in saying that you've let a review. Thank you so much!
> 
> Here is the next chapter in the saga. A lot of interesting twists and turns are coming in this story, so hang in there. Ultimately this is a Captain Swan story, but it also what I wanted to see happen in Season 5. So far my ideas have yet to come into play with the writers.
> 
> Speaking of the writers, the usual disclaimer applies. I own absolutely nothing except the plot!
> 
> Song Recommendations: Life Goes On - LeAnn Rimes; Heaven Got Another Angel - Gordon Garner 
> 
> As always, please if you enjoy the chapter leave a review. I write for myself, but the reviews always make me feel better about what I'm doing.
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

Arriving at the castle, memories of the first time she was here with Henry flooded into Emma's mind. It was when she finally found someone who truly believed in the things she could do when she had no belief in herself whatsoever. A small smile grew on her face as she thought about how far she had come since first showing up in Storybrooke. She reminisced about the first conversation she and Henry ever had at the castle as she waited for him.

_Emma: You left this in my car. It still hasn't moved, huh?_

_Henry: I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here. That the final battle would begin._

_Emma: I'm not fighting any battles, kid._

_Henry: Yes you are. You're here because it's your destiny. You're gonna bring back the happy endings._

_Emma: Can you cut it with the book crap?_

_Henry: You don't have to be hostile. I know you like me, I can tell. You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. It's okay, I know why you gave me away. You wanted to give me my best chance._

_Emma: How do you know that?_

_Henry: It's the same reason Snow White gave you away._

_Emma: Listen to me kid. I am not in any book. I'm a real person. I'm no savior. You were right about one thing though. I wanted you to have your best chance, but it's not with me. Come on, let's go._

Emma couldn't help feeling guilty when she thought about how the rest of that conversation with Henry had panned out. She made him so upset because she didn't believe what he was trying to tell her. She made it seem as though she didn't believe in him, which was the exact opposite of what she had wanted to do.

Although now they seemed to have a stronger connection than they even realized. He was so supportive of her and he was always in her corner cheering her on when she didn't believe in herself. She needed some of that confidence as she thought about all the things she should have said to Regina earlier. She needed to make things right, no matter what. She was willing to do anything to shake the guilt she was feeling from her conversation with Regina out of her mind. In fact, she was so lost in thought that she hadn't seen Henry approaching the castle.

"Hey mom," Henry exclaimed as he came over to sit down beside her, drawing her out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"Hey kid," she said with a smile turning her attention towards him, "How are you?"

"I'm alright, how are you?" he responded.

"I'm alright," she lied, "Nervous for your date tonight?"

"How'd you?" Henry started to asked as a puzzled look grew on his face.

"Killian told me,'' Emma interrupted placing a hand on his shoulder, "Don't be mad at him though. He held out for a while."

Henry laughed, "I'm not mad. I would have told you about it eventually. I'm not exactly nervous, more just excited for it. What'd you want the book for?"

"Excited is a good way to be," Emma smiled as she moved her arm back to her lap, noticing Henry's quick change in subject, "I wanted to see if the new inhabitants of Storybrooke had started showing up in your book. Well, I was actually hoping that at least Hyde is there. I am trying to learn more about him, so that I can think like him and bring him into custody. Like I used to do in my bail bonds days."

"Makes sense. I haven't really looked in the book since I got back from New York, so I don't know what's inside," Henry shrugged as he pulled the book from his bag and began flipping through it.

Scanning through the pages, Emma and Henry revisited the love story that was responsible for their existence. Emma smiled as she read the story of her parents falling in love for probably the one-hundredth time. No matter how many times she read it, the story never lost its luster. The shine got especially bright after she had been there to watch it happen.

They also read the stories of Ruby, Blue, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, Archie, Dorothy, and many more of their friends that they had made along the way. They were also able to reread the stories of those they lost. They read Baelfire's story and they read Robin's story. Both of them solemn as they thought about their memories with each of them.

"Do you ever still think about him?" Henry asked Emma looking up from the book as they stared at a picture of Neal not long before his death.

Emma nodded, "Every day, kid. Especially because I see so much of him in you."

"Really?" Henry inquired, his eyes lighting up brighter than Emma had ever seen them before.

"Mhmm. You look a lot like him, although I'm sure Killian and Gold would know more about how he looked when he was closer to your age. But I see his eyes when I look at yours and then your sense of adventure comes from him. He was always ready for an adventure when I met him. Every chance he got he was ready to go," Emma told him as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and squeezed him tight. They focused their attention back on the book to see what other stories they could find. Neither one of them wanted to be reminded of the painful memories of his death.

Meanwhile, Killian and Charming had followed the footsteps deep into the woods just along the town line. What they had discovered was not what they were expecting to find, but it was definitely a start. They were standing in front of what looked liked a plane crash.

"What do you make of this, Dave?" Killian asked as he looked around the mess in front of him. This was worse than when the Jolly Rodger crashed on the shore of Skull Island when he was in hunt of the crocodile.

"Looks like a plane crashed in the middle of the woods, and no one in Storybrooke heard it," Charming said half jokingly and half puzzled as he thought about how that would even be possible.

"That would be impossible, unless it was magic of some kind," Killian added as he walked around looking at the debris spread all over the place. He stopped when he saw the sparkle of a necklace laying on the ground.

"Hey, Dave. Look at this!" Killian called as he bent down to pick it up. Investigating it as he rose.

Charming walked over to see what Killian had found saying, "Who do you think that belongs to?"

"Don't know, but we can take it back with us and see if Emma has any ideas," Killian suggested, "She might be able to use one of those tracking spells on it to find it's owner."

Charming nodded, "Sounds good to me. I think we should get heading back. We are supposed to meet Emma at the Sheriff's office in ten minutes."

Killian nodded in agreement, tucking the necklace into his pocket, he motioned for Charming to lead the way back to town. Part of him thought that the crash site was the location where all of the new Storybrooke townspeople were from. Hyde was probably behind this, but that was just the thoughts that were floating through Killian's mind. Along with the ideas he had for the conversation he wanted to have this afternoon. His thoughts were all over the place. It was going to be a long afternoon. He sighed to himself as he came to that realization.

In the meantime, Emma had asked Henry to borrow his book so that she could continue her own research. There were snippets of the new inhabitants stories starting to show up towards the end of the book and she wanted to see what more she could find out about them. The way that the Land of Untold Stories had been explained to Emma was a place where people went who did not want to see how their stories played out. A place that Regina probably would have fit into well when Daniel died, or even after Robin's death. A place that she could see herself staying after the dreams that have been haunting her at night lately.

Emma frowned as the thought passed through her mind. She couldn't let what Regina had said to her earlier bother her this much. Especially not when she had so much other work to worry about. She still hadn't figured out what caused the vision that woke her up last night. Maybe she'd go to the library this afternoon to do some research on the vision and on a possibility of bringing back Robin back from the dead.

Her mind was racing so much that she hadn't heard Killian calling her name from behind her as she was walking into the office.

"Swan!" he yelled which finally resulted in her turning around to see who had yelled her name and smiled sweetly when she saw who it was.

"Hey. Sorry I was just thinking," she responded as she stopped to wait for him and Charming to catch up, "Find anything?"

Killian quirked his eyebrow at Emma. She took a hold of his hand, entwining her fingers in his as she whispered in his ear, "I'll tell you about it later." She placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

He nodded in response, "We found something, but we don't know what it means or who it belongs to."

Killian slipped his hook into his jacket pocket and pulled out the necklace that they found. He handed it to Emma. She investigated it briefly.

Charming added, "We were hoping that you could use a tracking spell on it to see who it belongs to, or Regina can do it if you found something in your research today that will require your attention instead."

"Nothing yet, but I'm going to keep looking this afternoon. We can try a tracking spell on it after we know what to expect from these people. Which is what I'm hoping to find out from this book," Emma said handing Killian the necklace back to hold for safekeeping. He quickly slipped it back into his pocket.

"Okay, love. Are you sure you're alright?" Killian asked his voice ringing with concern. Usually when something was bothering Emma, she would start answering questions quickly instead of her usual drawn out answers. He wasn't sure if Dave had caught onto that quirk of Emma's yet or not, so he figured he would just keep it simple.

Emma looked at Killian strangely as she answered, "I'm fine. Just a lot of thoughts in my head right now. I'm gonna go to the library and see what I can find in the books there as well as looking through Henry's book some more. I'll meet you at home later?"

Killian nodded. She needed space and he was going to give it to her. It wouldn't help their relationship if he was jumping down her throat whenever he thought something was bothering her. That would just shut her down even quicker.

"Okay," she smiled and kissed him softly, "I'll see you later. Bye, Dad."

She gave Charming a one-armed hug before she walked towards the library. Part of her wanted to smack Killian for double checking if she was okay, but she understood why he asked. Between the vision and the argument with Regina, she hadn't really been acting like herself today.

"Everything okay with you two?" Charming asked quirking an eyebrow as they watched Emma walk away.

"We're fine. Like she said, she just has a lot on her mind," Killian said glancing from Emma to Dave as he spoke, "She'll figure it all out. She always does."

Charming nodded, "Okay then. I'm going to go and gather Snow for lunch. Swing by the apartment in like an hour?"

"Aye, mate. That'll work," Killian replied with a nod. When Charming left, Killian stashed the necklace in Emma's desk and headed home to calm his nerves before going to see Snow and Charming.

Emma arrived at the library, only to find the doors locked. Frustrated, she knew that meant she had to go and talk to Gold. She had figured that since Belle had been locked in a box lately, he decided to take matters into his own hands to protect something that meant a lot ot her. Of course instead of taking care of her and her feelings, he chose to take care of the library. Sighing to herself she walked across the street to Gold's shop. She decided to forgo knocking and just walked in the shop.

"Gold," she called out as she entered the door. He had to be there because the door was unlocked. It was completely unlike him to just leave the door unlocked and not even be there.

"I know you're here, Gold. I need to talk to you," she continued as she walked to the counter towards the back of the shop where the curtain to the back room hung.

Much to her amusement, he appeared from behind the curtain. His usual irritated demeanor portrayed on his face. He apparently did not wish to be disturbed. That'll teach him to leave the shop unlocked Emma thought to herself.

"What do you want, Miss Swan?" he snarled.

"I need the key to the library," she replied, attempting to avoid rolling her eyes at him. His attitude towards her was unjustified, but she also knew that was just how he acted towards anyone.

"Why? What could you possibly need in there?"

"I want a quiet place to work on some research. Why do you care?"

"I don't," he hissed as he got the keys out of his lock box under the counter and handed it to her, "Here. Keep them."

"Are you sure?" she asked quirking her eyebrow as she took the key from him.

He nodded, "I don't need to be bothered for something so insignificant again, so you might as well have the key."

Emma shrugged and turned on her heel.

"Thanks," she called as she began to walk away. She froze when he spoke once more before she left.

"I'm sure you'll repay the favor soon enough, Miss Swan," he smirked.

"What do you mean?" she asked as she turned back around quickly to confront him, but he was gone. A shiver moved through her body as she looked around the shop for any hint of where he had disappeared to, but she saw nothing. She shook her head and left quickly for the library.

Slipping the key into the lock and opening the door, Emma wrapped her arms tight around her chest in an attempt to warm herself up. However hard she tried though, she could not shake the cold feeling. She bumped the thermostat up a few degrees before she sat down.

With a sigh, she opened the storybook and began to read through the pages of the people of the Land of Untold Stories more thoroughly than she had with Henry. As she flipped through the stories, she stumbled upon characters that she remembered watching in movies as she grew up.

"These were real people..." she mumbled to herself as she read the story of Aladdin. She had always thought of them as cartoon characters that Walt Disney had come up with. He made sure that every character in his movies got their happy ending. Walt Disney was the Savior she was trying to be. He actually succeeded in his goal.

She soon realized why Aladdin's story was in the section of Untold Stories in the book. His story came to an abrupt end when he found out he was expected to be the Savior of Agrabah. Emma couldn't help but think about how strange that seemed.

She continued to read on in the Untold Stories finding that every single story she read came to an abrupt ending. Nothing resolved. It was as though the character had just given up because things got too hard for them or they weren't ready to accept the future. It reminded her a lot of herself before she had moved to Storybrooke.

She was always hiding from someone because she didn't want to see how things panned out. That was why she was so hesitant to stay after the second curse. She liked the life she had in New York with Henry. Things were simple and that would have played out to a calm life compared to what she thought could spawn from living in Storybrooke. However, looking back on it now, she wouldn't change a thing about her life in Storybrooke.

She had Henry in her life. She had a healthy relationship with him where they trusted each other and talked about things going on in their lives. That is when they were ready to talk about them. She was living with Killian whom she loved more than anything in the entire world. He was there to help her deal with the things she didn't know how to deal with on her own.

She had her parents who were supportive of anything that she wanted to do, within reason. They even went with her to the Underworld to save the love of her life, even when it meant leaving behind the life they had grown to love at home.

She would never be able to figure out how she got to be so lucky to have such amazing people in her life. That even included Regina. She and Regina had a mutual understanding that they would do whatever it took to guarantee the safety of everyone in their family if the situation arose that one of them was no longer safe to be around the most important people in their lives. An arrangement that she hoped would never have to be acted upon.

"Alright, Emma. Focus," she scolded herself as she shook her head and wrapped her arms around her body again. She was still shivering even though she wasn't actually cold. It was like a sensation had taken over her body, but she pushed that thought aside in her mind and looked back at the stories in front of her.

As she turned to the next page, she finally stumbled upon Jekyll and Hyde's story. She began reading the story and when she went to find out what happened after the first transformation from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde, she found the remaining pages of the book to be ripped out.

"What the hell?" she mumbled as she flipped back and forth between the last page she read and the next missing page. It didn't make any sense. The book was complete when she was with Henry, or at least that was what she had thought. She knew that Henry didn't pull any of the pages out of the book and it hadn't left her hands when she was at the Sheriff's office. Someone or something did not want her to read what was on those last few pages of Hyde's story.

Now the only option she had to find him was the necklace that Killian had found. It looked like the one in the picture she had of Hyde from the storybook. It must have belonged to him or Jekyll. She was definitely going to find out which. However, she wasn't going to do it by herself. She could think of a few people that wouldn't be happy with her if she went in search of a crazy man all by herself.

Charming walked into the Mayor's office with a smile on his face as he saw Snow hard at work sitting at the desk adjacent to Regina's main desk. It seemed as though they were both busy with something of high importance because neither one of them realized that he had come into the room until he said something.

"Hello, ladies," he announced proudly. His voice causing both Snow and Regina to jump slightly at the unexpected noise. Snow looked up and smiled when she saw Charming. Regina on the other hand just glared at him, still grumpy from her earlier confrontation with Emma.

"Charming, what are you doing here?" Snow asked as she got up out of her seat and walked over to give him a hug and a quick kiss.

"Hello, Charming," Regina grumbled as she turned her attention back to her laptop. Charming quirked his eyebrow at Snow and she just shook her head.

"Well, I came to take you to lunch and to tell you that we are having company over this afternoon," Charming answered as he shrugged Regina's attitude off and decided not to focus on the negativity.

"Who's coming over?" she asked as she tried to figure out who would be visiting them at the house.

"Hook, apparently he wants to talk to us about something," Charming replied, "How does Granny's sound for lunch?"

"I wonder what Hook wants to talk about," Snow pondered, "Granny's is fine if we get it to go, I want to tidy up at the house."

"Whatever it is he wanted to talk in private, so I'm not sure. Or do you just want to make something at home?" Charming suggested.

Snow smiled and nodded quickly, "Yes that will work! Alright, let's go! Have a good afternoon, Regina."

Regina looked up briefly and nodded as she watched Snow and Charming walk out the door. She really shouldn't have been so anti-social, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with people. The longer she thought about it, the more she wanted to call it an early day. She could feel all kinds of tension growing in her shoulders as she sat hunched over at her desk. She sighed closing her laptop and packed her stuff away.

She'd go home, take a long bath, and talk to Robin. Then just maybe she would feel better after such a long and tiresome day. She chuckled at the thought. It was only noon and she was calling it a long day. She didn't want to think about how long the day would have felt if she had stayed in the office until four like normal. Taking one last look around the office to make sure she had everything and finding nothing out of place, she left.

"What was with Regina?" Charming asked as he and Snow walked hand in hand towards their apartment. He was trying to figure out what he did to have caused her to be angry with him. All he had said to her was hello.

"Nothing you did," Snow reassured him, "She had a not-so happy morning and some things she said may or may not have been overheard by someone who didn't need to hear them."

Charming looked at Snow puzzled as she shook her head, "I don't know how to explain it, so I won't try. Just know that it wasn't you."

"Okay," Charming chuckled as they continued on.

Stretching her arms above her head for the umpteenth time, Emma decided that it was time for her to head home. She wasn't getting anywhere on any of the work she was trying to accomplish, so she packed up her things.

As she was locking up the library, she heard the click of a familiar pair of heels walking up the sidewalk behind her. Sighing internally, she put a fake smile on her face and turned towards the sound of the footsteps.

"Regina," she said calmly.

Regina looked up at her as remorse settled on her face as she spoke, "Emma. Look, I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier."

"But you weren't wrong," Emma started to say when Regina interrupted her.

"But I shouldn't have taken it out on your happiness. I'm not angry at you or Zeus for Hook's return. I just have a lot of pent up anger and unfortunately you heard me when I let some of the anger out. I'm angry at Zelena," Regina continued, "I'm angry at the fact that she convinced us all that Hades had a change of heart and we were stupid enough to let him come back here with us, so that he could regain his full power and try to kill me, but only succeed in killing Robin. So I partially blame myself, but I also know that I probably wouldn't have done anything differently given the chance to do it again."

Emma understood how Regina felt. She felt the same way when she turned Killian into the Dark One alongside herself. She knew it was the only way to save him from his impending death. Even if she knew that turning him into the one thing that he hated most would lead him to hating her, it was the only way she could think of to save him. She wasn't ready to say goodbye. Not then and not now. Leaving him in Underbrooke had been the hardest thing she'd ever done.

"I know how you feel. Look, we both blew up a little bit this morning. Let's just move past it and work together. Killian and Charming found something today that could help us find Hyde and I found something strange in Henry's storybook that I could really use some help with," Emma said after a brief moment. The spread of relief was evident to anyone watching as it overtook Regina's face and she smiled sweetly.

"Of course. What'd they find?" she asked.

"They found a necklace somewhere in the woods today, but it looks like you're on your way home. So I will let you get there and we can talk tomorrow," Emma said quickly as she saw all of Regina's work items in her hands.

Regina laughed, "Yeah after our talk this morning, I wasn't able to focus on anything. I made the call to end my day earlier rather than later. That sounds like a plan. I'll swing by the Sheriff's office tomorrow morning. Maybe we can run a tracking spell on the necklace and see where it leads."

Emma nodded, "Alright. I will see you in the morning. Have a good evening Regina."

"You too, Emma," Regina said with a wave as she walked away towards her house and Emma walked towards the home she shared with Killian.

A smile grew across her face in the hope that he would be there when she got home. They would have the house to themselves since Henry was going to be at Regina's to get ready for his date. Maybe they could reenact their fun from this morning in the shower. Her eyes widened with excitement as the images started to play through her mind. Quickening her pace, she rushed home with the hopes of finding her pirate waiting to ravish her.

Her smile faded as she approached the house and saw Killian pulling the door shut behind him. He was leaving again, and that meant her thoughts couldn't be put into action. As he looked up and saw her walking his way, he smiled softly.

"Where are you going?" she pouted as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest when she reached their front door.

"I have to go talk to someone about something, but I'll be back shortly," Killian answered as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Who?" she questioned as she looked up at him.

"It's a surprise. A good surprise, but a surprise all the same. I can't tell you just yet," he smirked as she looked at him cautiously trying to get a read on what he was talking about.

"Hmph. Okay, well I guess I'll wait for you to come back here then," she sighed as she snuggled into him one last time before letting him go.

Placing a quick kiss on her lips, he told her that he'd be back soon and he was on his way to Charming and Snow's apartment.


	11. Wide Awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hopefully you enjoy the next edition of Forever and Always. This chapter we focus on Rumbelle since Mr. Gold made a minor appearance last chapter and we needed to know what he was up to. 
> 
> Just thought I'd let you all know that I have been nominated for 5 awards in the Hermione's Haven Awards that are happening now. If you'd like to vote, send me a pm and I'll send you the link to vote. I'm up against amazing authors so it's just an honor to have made the finals. 
> 
> Song Recommendations for this chapter: Wide Awake by Katy Perry and Better Without You by Suzi Oravec. 
> 
> I'm currently working through what I have written from NaNo for this story, so maybe updates will come a bit sooner just so I can get myself back in the right mindset to finish this wonderful tale. 
> 
> I am so excited to see what is going to happen in the second half of the season when it returns next Sunday!
> 
> If you enjoy the chapter, please consider leaving a review!
> 
> Love always,   
> ~starr

After his delightfully annoying chat with Emma Swan, Gold returned to his back room where he had been hard at work prior to the interruption. He looked at the lifeless figure lying on the makeshift bed. He sighed in frustration as he walked over to his desk and flipped the pages of the book he had been reading back and forth tirelessly trying to find a way to break Belle's sleeping curse, since true love's kiss was no longer an option. Every so often, he would look over at her hoping that the curse had broken on its own.

She didn't love him anymore, so his kisses were useless. Her father refused to do anything to help him awaken her. Primarily because her father did not think Belle was safe with Gold and had very good reasons for not liking Gold. Not to mention, his trip to New York had been unsuccessful in the attempt to find an answer. It just added to the hatred and tension Gold was already feeling in this town.

The information that Hyde had given him hadn't shown any validity so far. Gold was unable to find any mention of a place that would allow him to use the sands of time to awaken his beloved Belle by jumping into her dreams and forcing her to fall back in love with him so that his kiss would awaken her. However, he was bound and determined to find such a place and take her there. Something like it had to exist. He had given Hyde valid information, so the exchange should have been even. He had to wake her up to prove to her that he could protect both her and their unborn child. No matter what anyone said about him, those two were the most important people in his life since losing Milah and Bae.

He had been deeply entangled in his own thoughts and did not hear the bell on the door of the shop ring a second time that afternoon as someone entered through the front door. In fact, he hadn't heard the clicking of heels against the hardwood floor at all. He heard nothing until the visitor's voice sounded from beside him.

"Hello, teacher," she cooed sweetly as she gently placed her hand on his arm. Gold glared at her hand out of the corner of his eye and sighed before he acknowledged her.

"Your majesty. To what do I owe this pleasure?" he grimaced as he closed the book in front of him.

"Can't a student just pop in to visit her _favorite_ teacher?" she hummed. The emphasis she placed on favorite ran a chill through his bones. One that made him most uncomfortable. She wanted something because no one came to the Dark One without a deal in mind. He just couldn't place a finger on what it was exactly.

"What do you want, your majesty?" Gold hissed, "I don't have time to play games."

The Evil Queen cackled as she threw back her head. Gold rolled his eyes at her. She was wasting his time and he had other more important things to do.

"I'm not here to play games. I'm here to ask for your help," she said sweetly. He should know that she was not one to play games, unless they benefited her in some way.

"And what could you possibly need my help with?"

"Getting what I want most, of course," she quipped with a smile.

"And what would that be, dearie?" he questioned, "Ruining Regina's life? Killing Snow White? Or is it taking away all of the happy endings? You've always been a jealous person with so many vendettas that it is hard to determine what it is that you want most."

A fireball formed in her hand as the anger inside of her grew. He wasn't wrong. She was a woman with many wants, but no one spoke to the Queen that way. Especially not the man who taught her everything she knew and who knew what she was truly capable of doing. Slowly she rose her hand preparing to throw the fireball at his head.

"Do you really think that will stop me? You know it won't and you also know that my power is greater than yours. I can do far more damage than a little fireball in far less time than it will take you to throw that," he growled, "Now I repeat myself. What do you need my help with? AIt will come at a cost, if I feel so inclined to agree."

"I know, I know. Everything with you comes at a cost. Whatever you want you can have. My goal is all three things you listed. They are all connected anyways. If I kill Snow White, then it will ruin Regina's life because she calls Snow a _friend_ ," the Evil Queen gagged on the word. Even if it were true, she still could not believe those words had actually left her lips.

Gold rolled his eyes at her, "What exactly do you need from me? It sounds like you have itall figure out and are just wasting my time."

"Once I am certain of my need of you, I will make my request. What is your price?"

"Belle is guaranteed safety from whatever twisted plot you have forming in your head. No harm can come to her."

The Evil Queen nodded, "I suppose I can agree to that. She's done nothing to me, so there's no reason for me to after her. So you'll help me when I call?"

"Yes, I'll help you. Now if you don't mind I've got some research to do," he grunted as he tried to guide her back out the door. Unfortunately, she didn't budge from her spot.

"One more thing, the Temple of Morpheus, that Hyde told you about," she began before she was rudely interrupted.

"What about it?" he yelled in frustration, about to lose his temper if she did not leave him alone.

"It exists. Just thought you'd want to know," she hummed sweetly with a wicked grin on her face as she waltzed back into the main shop calling as she went, "I'll be back soon, Dark One."

With the quick flick of her wrist, she was gone in a cloud of purple smoke leaving Gold alone again. Alone in his thoughts as he looked longingly at Belle as she slept. His thoughts tracing back to the last conversation they had before she pricked her finger with the potion that separated them.

_Belle: The sleeping curse it'll hold everything. I can prick my finger quicker than you can stop me. As long as I'm asleep Hades can't take the baby and you'll have all the time you need to destroy the contract._

_Gold: Belle, you're only going to make things worse._

_Belle: I'm doing what I need to to protect our child.  
Gold: There's only one way out of a sleeping curse. True love's kiss._

_Belle: I know._

_Gold: Do you think this is going to force me to become the man you want me to be? To go back to the light just to wake you up? Belle, I already told you. I'm not that man._

_Belle: No, I know. You're not the one who's going to wake me. My father is._

_Gold: Ah, no Belle. Please don't._

_Belle: After you destroy the contract, you do whatever it takes to get me back to him._

He was still in shock that she had gone through with her threat. She wasn't wrong in her reasoning for doing it. It would guarantee protection for her and the baby from Hades at that time, but now Hades was gone and Belle was still asleep.

Something the Evil Queen said had really stuck with him. The Temple of Morpheus exist. Hyde hadn't been lying to him. There was hope for him yet.

"What could it hurt?" he huffed waving his arm over himself and Belle. The only thing left in their place was a cloud of red smoke.

When the smoke settled and he could see that building in front of him, Gold picked Belle up off the ground and carried her up the steps to the temple. At the top of the stairs, he laid her on the altar like structure in front of him. He looked down at her and frowned before he began looking for a way to pop into her dreams.

"You won't find anything here," a voice said from behind him. Gold turned on his heels quickly to find the source of the voice where he found a young man watching him.

"Who the hell are you?" Gold hissed as he sized up the lad, not impressed by what he was seeing.

"Well, you've come to the Temple of Morpheus. I am the only other person here other than you and this lovely sleeping woman. So, who would that lead you to believe I am?" the young man answered with a smile as he watched the frustration dance across Gold's face.

"Morpheus," Gold grumbled, "Then how I am supposed to see her dreams?"

"With my help, of course," Morpheus answered, "Just keep in mind that you may not get the result you are hoping for."

"Just take me inside her damn dreams," Gold yelled getting frustrated with Morpheus. He was the damn Dark One after all, he shouldn't need the help of someone else. Especially someone who just lurked in the shadows of some temple in the middle of nowhere that had no reference in any book he had ever read.

"Very well," Morpheus said and with a wave of his hand they were inserted into Belle's dream.

The scene inside was one that Gold recognized instantly. They were inside his castle in the Enchanted Forest. This was back when she was his servant. Back when she first started falling in love with him. When she was the only person able to see the man behind the beast. He always shoved her advances away. He was afraid of losing his power then, so he had no interesting in the possibility of true love with a person. Power was his one and only. Obviously nothing about him had changed. Why couldn't she love him now like she loved him then?

He knew this was going to be his own chance to wake her up, so he was willing to do whatever it would take to wake her. All he needed was her to say she loved him and then he would kiss her. Then and only then she would wake back up. He could explain to her that the baby was no longer in danger.

"Belle," he called.

"Rumplestiltskin!" she exclaimed, scared by his voice magically appearing from practically nowhere, "When did you get back? I didn't hear you come in. I was just in the middle of cleaning."

"Oh. Don't worry about it. Come, dearie, sit beside me and tell me more about your day," he said almost far to cheerfully for the Dark One, but at this point he didn't care. He was desperate after all.

Surprised at the casual nature by which he spoke, Belle almost dropped one of his favorite teacups. Not thinking anything of it, Gold caught it with magic and set it on the table beside him then patted the seat next to him for her to sit down. She just looked at him puzzled and cautiously climbed up to sit beside him.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked quirking her brow, "You're so chipper."

"Good mood, I guess. What about you?" he shrugged. He was hoping that in this dream she was still starry eyed secretly in love with him hiding behind the belief that she could break his curse. He could kiss her and then she would wake up because he was her true love.

"It was alright, I guess," she paused, "Really, what's gotten into you?" She couldn't place a finger on what was wrong with him. This wasn't the Dark One she knew.

"I've seen the light, Belle. Kiss me, help me break my curse," he said leaning in to kiss her, "I know you'll be able to break my curse."

"What are you doing?" she asked jumping away from him, "I can't help break your curse. It would have to be true love's kiss and I…"

She started to stumble over her words as she scrambled away from him, "I'm...I'm...not. I'm not in love with you."

"Of course you are. Think about it for a moment. You can see the man behind the beast. You love that man, Belle," he begged as he tried to get closer to her.

"No, I don't. I could never love a monster like you," she cried backing away from him.

"And that's all I needed to know," Morpheus announced as he stepped in between the two. Gold rolled his eyes at him. Morpheus was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. He had to convince Belle to see him as the man she loved.

"What the hell do you want?" he hissed glaring at Morpheus.

"She couldn't love a monster like you," Morpheus replied pointedly, "That means you can't wake her, but I can and you will leave her alone."

"Who are you?" Belle asked looking at the strange young man with his back to her.

"I'm your son and I will now be waking you up," Morpheus replied as he turned to Belle and place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

When they touched her forehead, the whole world shook. After the shaking finally stopped Gold realized that they were back at the temple. Morpheus was leaned over the altar with his lips on Belle's forehead and she was still lying on the slab.

"It didn't work. Get away from her," Gold yelled grabbing Morpheus's shoulder pulling him away from Belle.

"Give it a second, old man," Morpheus replied snidely which led Gold to tighten his grip on his shoulder.

Belle's eyelids fluttered a few seconds before opening completely. Her eyes moved rapidly from side to side before she sat up. She was attempting to figure out where she was. As she sat up, she shuttered at the sight of Rumple. He was the last person that she wanted to see at this exact moment. All along she had hoped that when she did wake up from her curse, the first person she would see would be her father. However as she looked around, her father was nowhere to be seen. There was some other young man standing who looked very familiar from the dream she was just having.

"You," she said pointing shakily at Morpheus, "You were able to wake me up. That means…"

"That what I said was true. I am the son of Rumplestiltskin and Belle French. My love for you is true love," Morpheus said proudly looking at Belle.

"Belle, come on. Let's go home," Gold said as he stepped in front of Morpheus extending his hand to her.

"No," Belle said firmly as she got off of the altar and stood in front of the two men, "I'm not going home with you. You already tried to ruin my life once. I won't let you ruin our son's life as well."

His frustration getting the better of him, Gold yelled, "So what are you going to do? Live here on your own?"

"No," she shouted back, "You will send me back to Storybrooke and you will let me live my life and raise our son without issue. Do you understand me, Rumple?"

"Do you really think you can keep me away from my son?" Gold hissed as he lunged towards Belle, closing the gap between them.

Morpheus stepped in between them protecting Belle. Not that she needed it. She was an independent woman who could stand her ground. Gold stopped in his tracks. Any further advances he made at this point were not going to end well if he did not tread lightly.

"Belle," he pleaded, "Don't do this."

"You've forced me to this point, don't you realize that? Morpheus, can you send me home?" Belle asked touching Morpheus on the shoulder. He turned his head and nodded. With the gentle flick of his wrist, Belle disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Where did you send her?" Gold yelled as he pushed past Morpheus to where Belle had been standing.

"Home. Remember this Dark One, the power of dreams is greater than you could ever believe," Morpheus warned before he disappeared in his own cloud of smoke.

"Damn it!" Gold yelled.

With a wave of his hand all that was left of him was a cloud of red smoke.

Belle recognized that she was back in Storybrooke when the smoke settled, just outside of the library. She knew that hiding out in the library would be the worst idea. It would be the first place that Gold checked. She was a bookworm after all and bookworms loved spending time in libraries. Unfortunately, the library couldn't give her sanctuary this time. Ultimately Belle knew that she would need help to stay hidden from Rumple.

She left the library and headed towards the Mayor's office, desperately hoping Regina would be there. However, as she passed the building where Snow and Charming lived, she noticed Hook coming right towards her. Her eyes lit up with hope. Maybe he'd be able to tell her where Emma was.

"Hook!" she called.

Hearing his name brought Killian out of the trance that he was in and looked up to see Belle running towards him.

"Belle? When did you..? How did you…?" he started asking when she cut him off.

"Rumple took me to the Temple of Morpheus, who happens to be our son. Our son was able to wake me from the curse and then he sent me back here, but I now need somewhere to stay. Do you know where Emma is? I was hoping she could help me find a place to stay that Rumple doesn't know about," she said so quickly taking a deep breath afterwards.

"Emma is at our house. Tell her to take you to my ship. You can stay there. Emma can put up wards to keep you safe while you are on board. I would take you myself, but I am on my way to have a very important conversation with Emma's parents," Killian replied calmly with a reassuring smile on his face, "It will be okay, Belle. We will help keep you safe."

"Thank you, Hook," Belle replied giving him a quick hug, "They'll say yes. Don't worry."

"I hope you're right, Belle," Killian said hugging her back, "I'll send Emma a text to let her know you're coming."

Belle smiled as she took off towards Emma and Hook's home. Thankfully HOok had been so kind. She wasn't sure what she would have done if she hadn't found anyone before Rumple returned to Storybrooke.

Killian pulled his phone out to send a quick text to Emma before forcing himself to go up to Dave and Snow's apartment.

Killian: Belle's awake. Coming to house. Take her my ship. Find a way to protect her.

Emma looked at her phone very puzzled at Killian's message. That was until she heard a knock at the door.

"Belle!" she exclaimed when she saw her standing on her front porch, "Do I want to know what happened?"

"Probably not, but it wouldn't be fair to leave you in the dark," Belle replied.

"Come on in, we'll figure something out. Would you like some tea?" Emma asked as ushering Belle in the front door.

Belle smiled walking in the house, "Thank you, Emma. Tea would be lovely."

Emma nodded as the pair walked from the entryway into the kitchen. Emma filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove before turning her attention back to Belle who was seated at the table.

"So, what happened?" Emma asked as she sat down across from her, "First of all, why did you voluntarily prick your finger with the sleeping curse?"

"Apparently Rumple promised his second born child off to someone in his past and the contract was picked up by Hades when we were in Underbrooke. I wasn't even aware I was pregnant. So when I found out about the contract, I decided to take the fate of my baby into my hands," Belle told her.

"Wow! Congratulations first of all. So finding out that Hades was after your baby is why you went under the sleeping curse. How did you wake up?" Emma asked.

Belle proceeded to tell her a similar story as to what she had told Hook, only now she was able to include a few more details. Specifically about the dream that Morpheus had brought Rumple into and how she had been woken up.

Emma was in shock as she listened to Belle talk. She knew that Gold could be cruel, but his behavior of late was just evil. No one deserved to be treated that way or have the life of their unborn child signed away in a contract.

"So you met your son as a full grown man?" Emma asked searching for clarification. Knowing how shocked she was to see henry for the first time after she had given him up, she could only imagine how shocked Belle must have been feeling.

"Yeah. It was his kiss that was able to wake me up," Belle replied.

"True love's kiss," Emma whispered as the realization of how Belle woke up struck her.

"Yeah, so now I need a place to stay where I am able to keep Rumple away from the baby and I," Belle added, "Which is why I'm here. Hook said that I could stay on his ship, but he asked me to ask you about putting some kind of a protection spell on the ship for us."

"I'm not sure how to do a protection spell, but I know someone who can," Emma said, "I'll get in touch with Regina and ask her to meet us at the docks."

"Thank you, Emma. You have no idea h0w much I appreciate this," Belle said.

"We're a family here in Storybrooke and we protect our family," Emma said before sending Regina a text.

Emma: Meet me at the docks. Belle's awake and needs our help.

Regina couldn't believe what she was reading as she read over the text for the fifth time. Questions began to fill her mind as she started gathering her things. She looked at her laptop lying on her bed before she walked out of the room. Before Emma had texted her, she was just getting ready to search for a way to help Robin and talk to him for a little while.

She decided to leave him a message. She knew he was here with her and knew what was going on, but she just felt the urge to type him a quick message. It made her feel more connected to him.

**Going to help Belle. I'll be back later. I love you.**

As she reached to close the lid of her laptop, she saw that Robin was typing a message back.

I know. I'm coming with you.

Regina smiled softly to herself and closed the laptop before leaving her house and heading down to the docks. As she walked, she felt the sensation of an arm being wrapped over her shoulders. She let out a soft sigh. She knew exactly who it was. She only wished that she could hold onto him too.

Her plan was to bring Robin back without the help of Mr. Gold since he did nothing without making a deal that would guarantee him whatever it was that he wanted. Unfortunately on her own and she was not coming up with any answers.

To say she was completely surprised when she arrived at the docks that evening would have been the understatement of the year. Standing beside Emma was Belle, wide awake, with worry written all over her face.

"Thanks for coming, Regina," Emma said as she joined them.

"Of course. So which explanation is shorter? Why we are here or how is she awake?" Regina asked.

"I need to put up a protection spell on Belle's new living place," Emma responded, "Killian is letting her stay on his ship. You're here to help me with the protection spell to keep Gold out"

"Why are we protecting you from Gold?" Regina asked turning to Belle.

"I'm pregnant," was her only response. Regina gave her a quick hug before they began casting the spell onto the ship.

"We'll talk once we get inside," Regina said with a reassuring smile.

Belle smiled, "Thank you."

"Between the two of us, there should be enough magic to put up a hefty barrier, but Gold's magic is strong," Regina said looking at Emma. Emma nodded as they both raised their hands to begin placing the spell.

A few minutes later, the spell was in place and the three ladies walked on board the ship. They spent a few minutes getting everything situated before sitting down to talk the situation in whole over.

"Alright, so the spell that we placed allows you to come and go as you please, but the only people who are allowed to get on the ship are myself, Emma, Hook, Snow, Charming, and Henry," Regina explained, "We can alter it to allow other people on board as we go, but for now it is safer to limit the amount of people. The less people who know where you are, the safer they are from the wrath of Mr. Gold."

Belle nodded. She greatly appreciated the concern that they had for her safety of her baby. She proceeded to fill Regina in on the events that had led up to the current situation they were in. As she thought about it a little longer a key question came to mind.

"What about his magic? Since he's the Dark One can't it overtake your spell?" Belle asked.

"Not this spell," Emma answered.

Belle looked between Emma and Regina rather confused, "What do you mean this spell?"

"Not only is it a protection spell, but it also covers the area around the ship, so this part of the docks will look like the ship isn't even here. As far as we know, Gold is unaware that Hook has gotten himself a new ship, so that's probably why he suggested you stay here," Regina added.

"So Rumple won't be able to see the ship, but what if he follows me back here?" Belle questioned.

"He can't. There's a ward up to stop him from coming to the docks," Regina affirmed.

"We will protect you. There is nothing to worry about," Emma insisted as she gently touched Belle's arm.

Belle nodded, "Thank you both. It means so much."

Both Regina and Emma nodded. They both knew what it was like to feel so alone in a world full of people. Being a part of a family is what finally saved them from the pain they were suffering from inside. Belle was a part of their family because their family was made up of people they loved, not just who they were related to by blood.

"Okay, I've taken up enough of your time this afternoon, please go back home," Belle told them with a slight chuckle in her voice, just barely masking the worry that was still there.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Emma asked. Belle nodded.

"Here," Regina said as a phone magically appeared in her hands, "If you need one of us for anything, use this."

She handed her the phone and Belle took it gratefully.

"Thank you," she added.

"Alright, have a good evening, Belle. Remember we are only a text or call away," Emma told her as she and Regina stood up from the table.

"Thank you again," Belle said as she walked with them outside the ship, "I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"Don't worry about it," Regina said, "It's what a family is supposed to do."

With that Emma and Regina left the ship and Belle behind as they walked back to their respective houses. They talked a little bit more about Belle's situation and how they were going to keep Gold away from her. It would definitely be a challenge, but it was a challenge they were willing to take on. As they arrived at Regina's house, the conversation had shifted to Henry and his date for the evening.

"How was he before he left?" Emma asked.

"A ball of nerves," Regina responded with a chuckle, "But I think that he will have a wonderful time. I think he is planning to stay at your place tonight, just so you know."

"Thanks for the heads up. Yeah I'm sure they'll have a wonderful time," Emma added, "Alright, I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning. We can try a tracking spell on the necklace and see where it takes us."

"Sounds like a plan. How about we grab breakfast at Granny's and then go from there?" Regina suggested.

"Works for me," Emma said, "Good night, Regina."

"Night, Emma," Regina responded as she walked inside her home. She then went up to her bedroom and talked to Robin until she fell asleep mid sentence.

Emma headed home to wait for her two favorite fellows to return.


	12. Important Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey all! Here's the next piece of Forever and Always that just so happened to accidentally play perfectly with what happened this past Sunday on the show! I do hope you enjoy this chapter. I had so much fun writing it!
> 
> Song Recs: Marry Your Daughter - BRKN RBTZ; My Girl - The Temptations; Unconditionally - Katy Perry
> 
> If you enjoyed the chapter please be sure to leave me a review!
> 
> Love always,   
> ~starr

Killian knew that before he could proceed with any of the plans in Operation Swan he had to talk to Dave and Snow. If he was going to propose to Emma, then he wanted to do this right. He had already gotten Henry's blessing, which was the most important in Killian's opinion because he did not want him to feel like he was trying to replace his father. Killian would never try to do that. Neal would always be Henry's father. Killian just wanted to be an important piece in Emma's life and since Henry was an important to her, Henry needed to be in the loop. Killian couldn't have been happier that Henry volunteered to help him with everything.

However, before he could even start thinking about the perfect ring, he needed to talk to Dave and Snow. He had to make sure that he had their blessing to marry their daughter because the old fashion nature in him meant he said that to do this right. He hoped that it would be easy to get Snow on his side. She was already so encouraging of their relationship because it made her happy to see Emma happy. Dave, on the other hand, would be a little more difficult. Killian thought there was still a part of Dave that did not trust him to be what Emma needed in her life. Even though it may have been an irrational thought, the first conversation he had with Dave about Emma was still lurking around in the back of his mind.

_Killian: What would you like to yell at me about now, Dave?_

_Charming: Stay away from my daughter._

_Killian: Well, she can't take care of herself. She doesn't need your parenting, which is a good thing._

_Charming: What does that mean?_

_Killian: Means you're gonna die in a day or so anyway._

_Charming: Nothing I can do about that, but if I do die,_

_Killian: When_

_Charming: It'll be in helping my family. And that's something someone like you can't understand._

_Killian: What if I told you there was a save you?_

_Charming: I'd say no because anything that takes us off course of saving Henry is being selfish, but of course you would think that was the way to go._

_Killian: Bugger off, what you think I'm being selfish? I'm risking my life for all of you. Every moment I'm here aligned against him._

_Charming: Please, you're not here for any nobility. You're here for Emma. And let me tell you something else. You're never gonna get her. I'll see to that._

Granted, Dave hadn't stood in his way like he had said, but at the same time Killian knew Dave wasn't thrilled with the idea of his daughter dating a pirate. He couldn't help wondering how he would take to having a pirate as a member of the royal family. Not that the royal family was perfect. Snow became bandit after being exiled for sharing a secret, who spent her days in the Enchanted Forest running from the Evil Queen. The Evil Queen happened to be the adoptive mother of Emma's son. Dave was a lowly shepherd forced into royalty when his twin brother died trying to kill a giant at the demand of King George. It wasn't like Emma was perfect either, but in Killian's eyes she was pretty damn close and he would spend the rest of his life trying to prove that to her.

All of these thoughts were running through his head as he stood outside the door to the Charmings' apartment after his run in with Belle. Henry had volunteered to come with him, but Killian knew he had to do this himself. He didn't want Henry there in case it would make his grandparents feel obligated to say yes because they didn't want to disappoint him. If he was going to get an honest answer from them, it had to be just him.

"Here goes everything," Killian mumbled as he knocked on the door. The thought of being rejected by Emma's parents still haunting his every thought.

As Killian stood on one side of the door trying to muster up the courage to knock, Charming was having an internal debate of his own inside as well.

Charming had barely been able to sleep since Hook asked him for a moment of time to talk to him and Snow with some privacy. There were a number of possibilities that could be discussed. The first thought to come to mind was that Hook was about to tell him that Emma was pregnant. Not that a new baby would be upsetting news, but Hook and Emma had only been together a short time and there was no marriage plans in the cards. Or at least that's what he forced himself to believe. When he brought up his concern to Snow, she shrugged him off because if she were then Emma would have been included in the conversation.

"Don't you think if Emma were pregnant she would want to talk to us with Hook and not just send Hook alone?" Snow asked washing the last of their dishes from lunch.

"Maybe she doesn't know," Charming said trying to reason his way through his own answer.

"And Hook does? How would that work?" Snow laughed knowing that he was just grasping at straws for some answer that was the most ridiculous thing he could come up with so that he could have a reason to be mad at Hook.

"I don't know! What else could it be?" Charming exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. Snow laughed as she watched him try to wrack his mind for a purpose to this visit.

"Maybe we should just wait and see what he has to say. He'll be here any minute," Snow responded placing a patronizing hand on Charming's shoulder. He sighed defeatedly knowing that she was right. He was worrying himself sick for no reason at all, other than to make himself crazy.

Just as Charming opened his mouth to speak, there was a knock at the door.

"He's here," Snow said with a quick kiss before she went to open the door to let Hook in. She was excited to hear whatever he had to say. She had her concerns too, but nothing as extreme as her husband. As long as Emma was happy with the results of this conversation, then she had no reason to be worried.

"Hey, Hook! Come on in," Snow said opening the door and saw him standing there with a nervous look on his face. She wondered how long it took him to convince himself it was okay to knock on the door. Whatever he wanted to talk to them about made him just as nervous as it made Charming anxious.

Then it hit her.

Snow knew exactly why Hook was here and she couldn't have been more excited, but she needed to keep calm. This was something that Hook felt he had to do and she would let him have his moment.

"Hello, Snow. Thanks taking the time to talk with me," Killian said as he walked inside. He gave Snow a quick hug before walking over to greet Charming.

Charming straightened where he stood as Killian approached with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Dave," Killian said extending his hand to Charming.

"Hook," Charming responded taking the extended hand. Snow just watched the intensity between the two of them grow. She wasn't sure whether it was nerves, jealousy, or anxiety that was fueling the interaction.

"Tea?" Snow asked happily, hoping to break up the tension that was brewing.

The intense handshake and corresponding staredown broke apart when Snow spoke. Both Killian and Charming looked over to Snow and nodded. She smiled at them and then she busied herself in setting the water to boil in a kettle.

"Shall we sit?" Charming asked casually. He was hoping that if they were sitting that whatever Hook wanted to talk to him and Snow about wouldn't hit him like a ton of bricks.

Snow and Hook nodded in agreement. Hook pulled out a seat across from where Charming had sat down and Snow grabbed three tea cups from the cupboard setting them on the table in front of everyone. She sat down beside Charming while waiting for the kettle to whistle. A pin drop could have been heard in the absolute silence that overtaken the room since Killian had walked through the door.

"So Hook, how are you?" Snow asked. The silence was killing her. She knew that this was going to be an extremely important and happy moment for this little family and she didn't want the awkward silence to cloud that. She had to make Hook more comfortable in this situation so that he would open up to them and start talking.

"I'm alright, love. Thanks for asking. I'm sure you're both wondering why I'm here," Killian said with a smile to Snow. She was a wonderful mother, even if she wasn't always aware of it herself. She wanted everyone to feel comfortable when they felt like they were in an awkward situation. In fact, she made it her coal if she could feel tension to diffuse it. It wasn't so much that this situation was awkward, it was just nerve-wracking to all involved.

Snow and Charming both nodded. Charming never took his eyes off the pirate sitting in front of him, trying his damnedest to intimidate him if at all possible. Although the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Hook had seen situations much more intimidating than Charming could even begin to imagine.

"So the reason that I'm here is about Emma," Killian started. He paused taking a breath to steady himself before continuing. This was important and he did not want to rush through it because of his nerves.

Snow watched with baited breath as Hook tried to steady himself so that his nerves didn't take over. It took all of her conscious effort not to rush over, take him in her arms and welcome him into the family. She knew she couldn't do that to him. She had so much respect for him wanting to do this the right way by asking for their blessing..

"You know that Swa...er...I mean, Emma and I have been seeing each other for a while now. Well, before she became the Dark One I had been looking at houses in Storybrooke to live in and then she became the Dark One and turned the house I was looking at into her evil lair...er...residence after we came back from Camelot before I found out I was a Dark One. Then as you well know, I died. You all came to save me. Thanks for that by the way," Killian looked between the two of them with a cautious smile. It meant a lot to him that they all had come to save him.

"Of course, we'd do anything for family," Snow told him with a smile on her face as she elbowed Charming in the stomach. Hoping to get him to respond and lose the solemn look on his face. Charming just turned to her and glared.

"Ouch!" he said rubbing the spot where her elbow hit as he looked at his wife who was pleading at him with her eyes to say something nice. Charming sighed as he conceded, "Snow's right. We do anything for family and Emma asked for our help."

Killian smiled at the mention of Emma's name before continuing with his speech. He just needed to remind himself that she was the reason he was jumping through all these hoops. He was doing all of this because he loved her.

"When Emma and I went to find the ambrosia we had to complete a test to prove it was true love using Emma's heart. When she placed her heart on the scale in front of gates, I burst into flames. She was in pain because her heart was separate from her. She had a choice to make, save me or save her heart. She chose to save me.

"The gates opened because the results of the test showed us that our love was true. When we found out that there was no ambrosia left, I told her to leave me there and return home with everyone else. That was probably the hardest test of true love any have endured. I promised her that I wouldn't let her be my unfinished business, but I knew that wasn't going to be an easy promise to keep. Then as you know Zeus returned me to this world. Ever since that happened I have sworn that I would do everything I could to protect Emma and make her happy."

Snow had tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she listened to Hook. This man was so deeply in love with her daughter and that was the best thing she could ever wish to have happen to Emma in her incredibly messed up life. If there was anything Snow could do to ensure happiness in her daughter's life, then she would agree to it. All Hook had to do was say that he wanted to marry Emma. She would never tell him no. Especially when he was will to do so much for Emma.

It was at this point in Hook's speech that Charming realized another reason as to why hook was here by himself. He wanted to ask for Emma's hand in marriage. He couldn't believe that he didn't think of this early. When he wanted to marry Snow, he could only dream of doing her father the honor of asking for his daughter's hand in marriage. However since her father had died before Charming ever met Snow, there was no way to give him that honor. Charming had never been more proud of the pirate for doing the right thing than he was right now.

Charming and Snow were unaware of the test of true love that Emma and Hook had experienced while in Underbrooke. All Charming knew was that Emma was utterly heartbroken when she met him at the clock tower. All Snow knew was that Killian told Emma that he had to stay behind and that Emma was devastated. Hearing about the young couple's experience made their heart break for the pair.

Killian could see the emotion in Snow becoming more evident as he spoke. He didn't realize that Emma hadn't told them everything they had experienced when they went in search of the ambrosia. He knew that she refused to let her armor down for anyone other than him, her parents and son included. He was the only one to see her truly vulnerable. The pain on her face when she left him in Underbrooke would forever be ingrained in his memory. That was a memory that he was going to try his hardest to erase from his mind. He planned to fill his mind with memories of her smile.

"So to be able to keep this promise, I need to do everything in my capacity to make her happy, and to be able to do that I am here to ask you both a very important question. You do not have to tell me yes. I know that you have your doubts about me, Dave. However, I do hope that I have proven myself worthy of your daughter and your respect to some extent over the time that you have known me."

The tears started to roll down Snow's cheeks and Killian had taken notice. His intent was not to make her cry, but he could understand why she was crying. He guessed that she had figured out what he was here to ask, so he really just needed to stop stalling and come out and say it.

"Snow. David," he said looking at each of them, "I am here to ask for your blessing to propose to Emma. I wanted to do…"

Killian was cut off by Snow hugging him very, very tightly. He could feel the dampness of her cheek from the tears against his skin. He cautiously placed his arm around her to return the hug.

Catching her breath, Snow released him and looked at him with the proudest smile on her face, "Of course, you have my blessing. I have seen how happy you make her and I have thought of you as family since the night that you picked Emma up for your first date. I knew you two were meant to be when I watch you two argue in the Enchanted Forest."

Killian smiled softly as he looked at Snow, "Thank you, Snow. That means a great deal coming from you." Killian looked past her to where Charming sat, "Dave?"

Snow walked away to grab some tissues so that she could dry her tears as they both waited for Charming to say something. If he didn't have Dave's blessing, then he wouldn't propose to Emma. Not until Dave said it was okay. He refused to dishonor Dave in that way.

Charming crossed his arms. He wanted to play this up as much as he could. The pirate deserved to suffer just a little bit longer in suspense especially since Killian made him wait and stew about this conversation. He couldn't say no, especially after thinking about what Emma would want. She would want him to tell the pirate yes, there was no doubt in his mind of that. Of course the pirate had earned his respect. He had proven himself time and time again to be worthy of this family.

"What about Henry? Have you asked him what he thought about this?" Charming asked smugly. Snow shot death glares in his directions which causing him to smirk slyly to himself and shrugged in Snow's direction.

Killian hadn't seen the smirk on Charming's face, he was watching Snow as she glared at him. He knew that it probably wasn't the best idea to have talked to Henry before talking to her parents, but that's what he did and he would own up to it.

"I've already asked Henry if it would be okay. I asked him first because besides Emma, he would be the most affected by this change," Killian said firmly hoping that Charming would understand his reasoning.

Charming nodded, "And how did he feel about this?"

"He told me that as long as it makes Emma happy, then it will make him happy."

"Well," Charming said with a smile, "Then I can't disagree with my grandson and my wife. You have my blessing to propose, Hook. Just know I will be keeping an eye on you." Hearing the approval, Killian smiled as well.

"Thank you, Dave. On my honor, I will do right by your family," Killian said happily.

"We know you will," Snow piped in just before the kettle began to whistle, "Would you still like some tea? I'd love to hear more about your proposal plans!"

Killian chuckled and nodded, "Aye, I'll stay awhile. I'm afraid I don't have many details to share just yet. I didn't want to get too far ahead of myself in the planning stages in case you refused to give your blessing."

"Now why would you think that we would turn you down?" Snow asked as she walked over to get the tea bags and the kettle before returning to the table.

"Call it an irrational fear coming from a conversation Dave and I had in Neverland," Killian shrugged.

"What conversation?" Snow inquired as she poured the tea standing between Charming and Killian and then placed the kettle in the middle of the table.

Charming and Killian both looked at each other. They weren't sure whether or not they should tell Snow the truth about their trip in Neverland or not. Charming didn't want to anger her by explaining that he had basically told the pirate that there was no way in hell that he was going to date his almost thirty year old daughter, whom he knew he had no control over whatsoever at the time or ever, but still wanted to protect his little girl. There was no way that Snow would play along and it would just get him into even more hot water than he was already in for playing with Hook's emotions.

Killian refused to come clean about the argument he and Dave had had in Neverland because no matter what he had said at the time, there was a part of him that helped Dave in Neverland for selfish reasons. He knew that Emma would never forgive him if she found out her father died and he had known of a way to save him, but did nothing. So by helping Dave, he was gaining favor with Emma.

"What conversation is he talking about, David?" Snow hissed glaring at Charming.

Killian laughed quietly to himself. It was nice to see someone else in the hotseat for once instead of himself. Part of him felt guilty for getting good old Dave in trouble, but at the same time he wasn't super concerned by the fact. That's what a good son-in-law does anyways. They avoid getting in trouble by any means possible.

"Uhm, well. You know I wasn't very fond of Hook when we first met. I made have told him that he would never be with Emma if I had anything to say about it," Charming whispered hoping that Snow would not hear every single word that he had said. Unfortunately, he realized was very, very wrong as the storm of smacks cascaded down on his arms as she spoke.

"What!" _smack_. "Do!" _smack_. "You!" _smack_. "Mean!" _smack_. "If!" _smack_. "You!" _smack_. "Have!" _smack_. "Anything!" _smack_. "To!" _smack_. "Say!" _smack_. "About!" _smack_. "It!?" _smack_. _smack_. _smack_.

Snow glared at her husband as she continued her rampage, "She is a grown woman and can decided for herself whom she wants to associate with! You don't get a say in the manner!"

Killian couldn't help laughing at Charming's reaction to Snow's hits. _Like mother like daughter_ , he thought to himself as he reminisced about the conversation he and Emma had had yesterday that resulted in him getting smacked in the shoulder about as many times as Charming was getting hit.

"And you," she sneered turning her attention to Killian pointing her finger in his face, "Don't you ever think you aren't good enough for Emma. You have made her the happiest I have ever seen her since she first stepped foot into Storybrooke!"

She smacked him on the arm a few times to make sure her point was enunciated properly. She did not want him to leave her home without realizing how important he was to their family. She didn't care if her husband saw it the same way she did.

"Killian, we will do anything to ensure Emma's happiness and to keep our promise that means we welcome the important people in her life into our family. You have proven yourself to be an important person in her life. Therefore, you are a member of our family," Snow said with a smile as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Killian smiled softly as he spoke, "Thank you, Snow. I believe that's the first time you've used my given name in a conversation since we met. I'm honored to become a member of your family."

Snow smiled, "We are beyond happy to have you. So tell me. Have you thought about the kind of ring you want to get?" The excitement in Snow's voice was very apparent.

"I was going to ask Henry to help me pick something out that he thought she would like, but would you like to help me as well?" Killian said with a smirk as he saw Snow's face light up at the question.

Words were beyond her. All she could do was smile and nod frantically. If she started to speak then she would probably start crying all over again. She didn't think that Hook would be able to handle her crying yet again. She could tell it bothered him to see a woman cry, even if they were tears of joy.

Charming watched the whole ordeal take place. It brought joy to his face to see how excited Snow was getting at the thought of being involved in the planning of Emma's impending engagement.

"I just have to ask one thing," Charming spoke up as he was listening to the conversation between Snow and Hook. Slowly they turned their attention to him.

"Aye, mate?" Killian said raising his brow slightly.

"Can we be there or near by when you do propose? I know that would mean quite a bit to Snow and it would mean a lot to me to see that joy on her face," Charming replied.

Killian nodded, "I think that can be arranged. Once I get everything planned, I will be sure to let you know."

The tears started to roll down Snow's cheeks again as she cried tears of joy for her daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law. The pure fact that she was going to get to see him propose to her made the whole situation even more invigorating for Snow. She could barely contain her excitement.

"Thank you so much Killian," Snow sniffled as she tried to regain her composure. Killian smiled and nodded in her direction, waiting to speak again until he heard from Dave.

"Yes, thank you for that Hook," Charming paused momentarily, "I guess I should start calling you Killian more often, shouldn't I?"

Killian guffawed as he nodded his head, "Aye, mate it might not be a bad idea."

Snow started to giggle before both Killian and Charming started laughing. The whole scenario being rather funny knowing that it may take a few slips when speaking to him since they have called him Hook for so long. As it would probably take Killian a while to break the habit of calling Snow and Charming by names rather than Mom and Dad, if that's what they prefered to be called. Old habits die hard.

While the three of them were discussing engagement ideas, Henry was busy getting ready for his date with Violet. He didn't think he had ever been so nervous in his life. He wanted to make sure that everything went perfectly so that when he asked her to be his girlfriend, she would say yes without any question of a doubt.

"Shower... _check_...Deodorant... _check_...Nice clothes... _check…_ " Henry mumbled as he maneuvered around his room gathering the things he still needed to collect.

"Wallet... _check_..house keys... _check…_ "

Walking down the hall past Henry's room, Regina heard him mumbling nervously to himself. A small grin spread across her face as she stopped outside his open door watching him gather his belongings.

"Everything okay in here?" she asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh. Hey mom. Yeah everything's alright. Just a little nervous," Henry said, his voice dampening as he spoke.

"First date jitters?" she asked as she slowly walked into his room.

Henry nodded. He didn't have the words to say to explain how he felt. He just knew that he was nervous.

"I remember how those felt. In fact, I felt that way when Robin and I went out on a proper date the first time," Regina said placing a comforting arm around Henry's shoulders. She could feel the tension rush out of them as she continued to tell him her story.

"But my first date with Daniel. That's when the jitters were really bad. We decided that we were going to go horseback riding and we were going to meet at the stables. Simple enough right? Just wear clothing that I could ride a horse in and head down to the stables like I did every evening. But from the moment that Daniel and I made this plan on, the butterflies would not leave me alone. Not only had they taken over my stomach, they were invading my brain and messing with my thoughts. I was just planning to wear what I always wore riding, but the butterflies told me that I needed to look just right and that riding clothes weren't going to cut it for a date."

Regina smiled as she told the story to Henry watching the nervousness slowly start to leave him. He was becoming so much more relaxed. While she talked, she could also feel Robin's presence looming in the room. She had made the judgement call that it would be best not to talk about the real first date that she and Robin had been on because that ended with them in a compromising position on the rug that laid on the floor of her office. Not an image she wanted to instill in his brain. That could be her and Robin's little secret.

"I wanted to impress him, so I picked out the cutest outfit that I owned which was the worst thing to go riding in. So I got dressed and headed down to the stables. I was early and then the jitters set in even more. I started to think about him not showing up and leaving me devastated, and now that I say that out loud I am thinking I shouldn't put thoughts in your head," she laughed.

Henry laughed too. Smiling as he said, "It's alright, mom. It's not like the thought hadn't crossed my mind already."

"I guess that's possible, but I do want to finish my story real quick. When I got to the stable Daniel was already there waiting for me pacing back and forth. So the moral of my little story is that she is probably just as freaked out as you are about tonight," Regina said with a smile, "And i hope that you have a wonderful time tonight."

"Thanks for the advice, Mom," Henry said as he looked at the clock in his room, "Looks like it's time for me to get to Granny's. I'll see you later. Love you."

Henry kissed her cheek as he walked out of his bedroom and headed downstairs out the door. The smile beaming from his face could be seen for miles and miles.

Regina watched from the top of the stairs as Henry walked out the door on the way to his first date. She was hoping that her little story helped him get over the jitters, but she knew that they wouldn't totally go away. She sighed and headed back to her bedroom where she was planning to see what she could could find about bringing Robin back from his ghostly form to his human self.

"Everyone gets nervous. Everything will go smoothly," Henry mumbled to himself as he walked, "She said yes to the date. She likes you."

The simple sentences became his mantra as he walked. He was willing to say anything to himself that might calm his nerves so that when he went to grab her hand, his weren't drenched in sweat. It was only a short walk from Regina's house to Violet's, but it seemed like thousand of miles to walk as the first date jitters took over his body.

The nerves started to fade away when Violet's house came into view and he saw Violet standing out front patiently waiting for him. A smile grew on his face as he approached. A smile grew on Violet's face as well when she noticed Henry walking her way.

"Hey," Henry said softly as he reached an arm out to give her a hug.

"Hey," Violet smiled, "I thought I'd save you from the interrogation that my dad was planning by waiting for you out here."

Henry laughed, "Thanks. I think we can save the parent interrogations until our next date. Ready to go?"

He extended his hand to her. She took it before answering.

"Almost. There's something I want to do first," she said shyly as she leaned in and quickly pressed her lips against Henry's. Her actions took him by surprise, but quickly he leaned into the kiss matching her movements.

They both smiled as they separated, the slightest tinge of pink spreading on each of their cheeks as they started to walk to Granny's. As they walked they chatted quietly, both of them wanting everything to be perfect. Tonight was an important night.

When they arrived at Granny's, Henry turned to Violet, "Wait here, okay?"

She nodded as he ran inside. Curious as to what he had planned, but excited all the same. Taking advantage of the moment that she had to herself, she took the compact out of her clutch and checked her make up. She made sure to reapply her lip gloss, just in case he decided to kiss her again.

Inside, Henry went looking for Granny. He had asked her earlier in the day if it would be okay for him to sit outside. The weather was gorgeous and he wanted to take advantage of it. He promised that he would let her know when they got there so that she would send someone out to get their order. Anyone in this town was willing to help the grandson of Snow White and Prince Charming, or maybe it was the fact that he was the son of the mayor. Either way he wasn't going to object to the extra help. He smiled once he spotted her.

"Hey, Granny, Violet and I just got here. Any table outside okay?" he asked.

"Hello, Henry! Any table will be fine. I'll be out in a minute," she said graciously.

"Thanks again, Granny!" Henry exclaimed as he turned around to go back out to Violet, who smiled when she saw him coming back outside.

"Pick a seat," Henry told her. Upon seeing the confused look on her face, he decided he should explain, "I thought since it was a beautiful night that we could sit outside. I made arrangements with Granny earlier today."

"That makes more sense now," Violet laughed as she walked over to a table. Henry smiled to himself when he realized it was the same table that Emma and Hook sat at when Hook told her about trading his ship. He hoped that this table was lucky for relationships as he pulled out Violet's chair for her to sit down.

Granny came out and took their orders, smiling to herself as she realized they had ordered the exact same thing even down to the hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon on top.

"A match made in heaven," she remarked as she walked back inside to get their food ready.

Henry and Violet talked about everything from their childhood and how they were raised to what they thought they might major in in college. Henry opted to not talk about where Emma had been when she gave birth to him, purely out of respect for her privacy. He knew Emma wasn't proud of being in jail, even though it made her who she was today.

Conversation between he and Violet flowed so easily. It was like they were talking to an identical representation of their own self, but at the same time there was so much different between them. They shared similar dreams and thoughts on different topics, but they also had different opinions on other topics which led to more in depth conversations as they ate.

After they finished eating, Henry and Violet left the dinner and headed for the docks hand in hand. On their way there they ran into Hook, Emma, Snow, and Charming. Internally Henry rolled his eyes because he knew that it would be question central if they didn't keep this short.

"Hey, kid," Emma said when she spotted them, "Hey, Violet. How's the evening going?"

"Hey, everyone," Henry answered squeezing Violet's hand, "It's going well. We just finished dinner and are headed down to the docks. Where are you all headed?"

"Granny's for a late dinner," Killian answered before Emma could reply which led Henry to smile when he realized what Killian had done.

"Sounds like fun. Enjoy dinner," Henry said, "I'll come by the house later."

"Good night, Henry! It was lovely to see you again, Violet," Snow said as the teens walked away. She was smiling from ear to ear. Her daughter was soon to be engaged and her grandson was happy as can be with his cute little girlfriend.

"Is she officially his girlfriend?" she asked curiously.

"If all goes well on their walk, I would say she is," Killian said slyly. Everyone turned to look at him. The shock evident on all their faces.

"What do you mean if all goes well?" Emma inquired raising her eyebrow at him.

"She has to say yes first, love," Killian replied with a smile.

Emma, Snow, and Charming all slowly nodded in agreement as they realized what Henry was up to. He was going to the docks to ask Violet to officially be his girlfriend. Emma couldn't think of anything sweeter as a smile grew across her lips while she looked happily at Killian.

"So can we go eat now?" Killian asked half jokingly and half seriously. It had been a long nerve wracking day and he was hungry.

Emma laughed and nodded taking his hand in hers leading him towards Granny's, "Yes. Let's eat."

Snow and Charming followed suit as Emma and Killian led the way.

Upon arriving at the docks, Henry led Violet over to the spot where he normally found Hook or Emma when they came down here to think.

"Let's sit here. We can watch the stars," Henry said offering her a place to sit first. Violet smiled at him as she sat down.

Henry sat beside her and reached out to take her hand. Staring at the way their fingers were interlaced so perfectly as he spoke again, "So Violet, we've been talking for awhile now. We enjoy each other's company and I think that tonight has gone wonderfully, wouldn't you agree?"

She nodded her head as she listened to him. She could see the faintest hint of pink growing on his cheeks. She found him absolutely adorable when he blushed. Not that he wasn't adorable all the time, it was just especially cute when he did it while he was nervous and talking to her.

"I was wondering if you'd like to be my girlfriend?" he asked looking up from their hands to her face, seeing the most beautiful smile on her face.

"Yes, Henry. I would love to be your girlfriend," she answered excitedly.

"Really?" he exclaimed failing to hide his excitement at her answer. She nodded in response as she continued to smile.

Henry reached up to caress her cheek as he slowly leaned forward to kiss her. Violet leaned in to meet his lips and the young couple shared their first kiss as boyfriend and girlfriend. Both very excited to see what the future held for them.

They sat down at the docks for a long while. Kissing and talking was how they spent most of that time. It was about ten thirty when Henry looked at his watch. He decided that it would be best to start his relationship with Violet off on the right foot with her parents.

"I think I should walk you home soon. I want your parents to like me," Henry said watching Violet look out into the horizon at the lights dancing across the water. She had turned to see him watching her before she spoke.

"Yeah, that would probably be best," she giggled.

Henry took her by the hand and they walked back to her house. They shared one last kiss goodbye before Violet went back inside. Each of them smiling from ear to ear.

Henry decided to send a quick text to Regina to let her know that he would be staying at Emma and Hook's house tonight. He also promised that he would come by in the morning before school to tell her all about his date. Although he did make sure to mention that she said yes to his question. She had responded to him quickly, and he headed straight for Emma and Hook's.

Getting no response from knocking on the door, Henry let himself in with the key that Emma had given him. He also got no response from calling out into the empty house, so he went into the living room and plopped down in front of the tv. He was texting Violet when he heard the front door open and a voice call out.

"Henry? Are you here?" Emma called.

"Yeah, mom. I'm in here," he answered.

Emma and Killian appeared in the living room after hanging up their coats and Henry had moved over to one end of the couch so someone else could sit there with him. Emma sat beside him and Killian sat on the chair beside the couch.

"So, how'd it go?" Emma asked curiously watching Henry's face looking for some indication of how the night had gone. Killian just smiled as he waited for Henry to answer.

"It went really well. I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes," Henry announced proudly with a big, bright smile beaming from his face.

"That's great, kid," Emma said patting him on the arm. She looked between her son and her pirate. She had it good. Two amazing men who loved her right under one roof. Life couldn't get any better, so long as the visions stayed away. That thought alone made her shudder.

Killian caught the slight shudder out of the corner of his eye and raised his eyebrow at Emma, who quickly shook her head no. She didn't want to worry Henry about the visions. She needed to figure out what was causing them before she could tell him. She wouldn't have told Killian about them either had he not been there when the first one occurred.

"Alright, you've got school tomorrow and we're going back out to hunt for Hyde. I think it's time for bed," Emma declared after yawning. It had been a tiresome day.

Killian nodded in agreement as he stood from the chair and extended a hand to help Emma up off the couch. Henry nodded too as he got up off the couch and shut the tv off.

"Goodnight, Mom. Night, Hook," Henry said, quickly giving his mother a hug and then headed upstairs to his bedroom.

"Night, Henry," Killian answered as he squeezed Emma's hand. She smile sweetly and hugged Henry back.

Then she took Killian's hand and pulled him up the stairs to their bedroom. They shared a quick kiss goodnight and decided to forego any extracurricular activities since Henry was in the house.

Cuddling up tight to one another, they both fell into a peaceful sleep. Killian's dreams filled with dreams of he and Emma saying "I do" and living a happy life together. Emma's dream filled with happy times with her whole family hoping to evade any possible visions that could come her way.


	13. Inner Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know it's been forever and I'm sorry, but life happened lol. I signed up for Camp NaNo and have added another 50k to this story that I'm excited to share with you. I'm not entirely sure where this chapter came from. I'm not sure what I had done in November because this was interesting to edit. 
> 
> I have posted quite a few Once Upon A Time inspired drabbles - Written in the Stars - be sure to check them out!
> 
> If you are interested in keeping up with me, you can check out my links on my profile! Lots of places to find teasers and updates. 
> 
> Song Recs: Won't Let You Go - Shannon Noll; You Give Me Hope - Breaking the Trees; Safe in my Hands - Eli Lieb
> 
> Disclaimers: I own nothing except my plot. I am my own beta for this fic, so please excuse the mistakes. 
> 
> If you enjoy the chapter please drop a review and consider following me on my other social media! :) 
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

The fight continued and she found herself knocked to the ground by the hooded figure once again with nothing to fight back with as she watched the figure draw a sword from its sheath. Looking back over her shoulder trying to find a way to run, she saw her family running towards her. She tried to scream, but it was no use. Her voice was gone. The sword came plummeting for her heart and the last thing she heard was the cries of her family.

She sat straight up in bed as the shaking started and the tears began rolling down her cheek. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, trying to steady her breathing so that she didn't wake Killian up, but was unsuccessful. She felt his arm pulling her into his chest. She let out a sob as she felt his hand brushing up and down her back trying to sooth her.

"Love, it's okay. I'm here. Nothing is going to happen to you," he whispered into her hair as he placed gentle kisses on the top of her head. He knew that the vision had come back. She didn't have to tell him. His Emma didn't wake up panicked in the middle of the night for no reason.

He continued to comfort her as she cried. It pained him so much to see her like this. She was stronger than this. They needed to do something about stopping these visions, but it would be up to her to ask for help. He couldn't do it for her.

Slowly, the sobbing became a quiet whimper and finally she took in a deep breath forcing herself to sit up and meet his eyes. She wiped the tears away from face before she said anything.

"I'm sorry I woke you," she mumbled softly.

"You don't have to apologize for that, love. Ever," he reassured her. "What happened this time?"

She shook her head. She wasn't ready to talk about it. The tears started to well up in her eyes again and she started to shake. She couldn't handle thinking about the vision, let alone being able to talk about it so soon after it had woken her. It was a living nightmare. If she couldn't think about it, how was she supposed to be able to tell the man she loved that her vision told her that she was going to die in front of everyone that she loved. It wasn't something that she could just spit out casually in the middle of a conversation. She just needed more time.

"Shush, it's okay. We can talk about it later. It's too soon. I'm sorry," Killian said as he pulled her close again. She leaned against him resting her head on his shoulder as she tried to steady her breathing, so that she could even talk at all. He kissed her head as he listened to her breath.

They sat like this for over an hour. Killian comforting her by running his hand up and down her back as he whispered soothing phrases into the top of her head. Every so often, he would place a gentle kiss in the spot where he was talking. Emma was trying to wrap her mind around what had happened. She knew that she needed to tell him, but she just wasn't ready. She couldn't cope.

"I'll be okay," Emma finally said after what felt like a lifetime. "But I want to wait until we've had a bit more sleep to talk about it, okay?"

Killian nodded. "Okay, love."

Emma kissed his cheek softly before sliding back down into the bed and curling up in a ball. Killian let out a quiet sigh before he slid down behind her and draped his arm over her waist pulling her in tight against him and nuzzling his chin in the crook of her neck.

"I love you, Emma," he whispered before they both drifted off to sleep.

Emma was barely able to drift off to sleep because she was terrified that vision would come back to haunt her. She closed her eyes, but woke up at the slightest of sounds in the house. The only thing that helped to keep her calm was Killian holding her tight against his body with his arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

Killian woke up rather early to find himself alone in their bed. Concerned as to where she might have gone, he called out to her, but got no reply. So he tossed aside the blanket and went in search of her. As he walked out of their room, he heard the sound of something moving about in the kitchen. He came down the steps and a sigh of relief came over him when he saw her sitting at the kitchen table staring at a cup of coffee.

"How long have you been up?" he asked walking into the kitchen. She looked up at him over her shoulder with a small smile on her face.

"About an hour," she responded quietly. He came over and kissed her on the cheek before grabbing himself a cup and joining her at the table.

"Why didn't you wake me?" he asked concerned.

Emma shrugged. She wasn't sure why she didn't wake him. Her body just told her it was time to wake up so that's what she did. She came down to the kitchen, made a cup of coffee and just sat at the table. She was pretty sure her coffee had gone cold.

The concern was growing in Killian's eyes. He knew that she had never actually fallen back asleep. He had felt her tossing and turning underneath his arm. She would play it off as she couldn't get comfortable, but he knew that it was because of the vision.

"Do you want to talk about last night?" Killian asked quietly, having the sneaking suspicion that he already knew what the answer was going to be.

Emma wanted so desperately to shake her head no and pretend that it didn't happen, but she also wanted to talk to him about it. He was the one person she knew she could talk to and not feel judged. She also knew that it would be easier to talk about it with him before Henry woke up. She sighed to herself as she began to gather her composure.

"It was the same vision as before, but this time there was more to it. When the sword was just inches above me, I looked back over my shoulder and saw everyone. My mom, dad, you, and Henry running towards me. Just before I woke up the last sound I heard was a scream coming from where you all were standing," Emma told him as she stared at the cold coffee cup in her hands.

"Emma, look at me," Killian said quietly as he reached out to grab her hand. Slowly she raised her eyes up from the cup meeting his icy blue eyes. He smiled at her before he spoke again.

"You will be okay. I will always be by your side. No matter who the battle is against, you will never be alone. But I do think that you need to talk to someone other than me about this. Either your mom or the grasshopper," he added with a playful smile.

Emma nodded with a nod. " I know. I figure if I don't talk about it, then it isn't real. You know?"

"Trust me, love, I know what you mean. It's how I deal with losing Liam," Killian said squeezing her hand gently with a soft smile on his face. "It'll be okay. We will get through this together."

She smiled back at him. "I love you, Killian."

"I love you too, Emma," he responded. "How about we get dressed and head to Granny's for breakfast?"

"That sounds lovely. Should I wake Henry up?" Emma asked collecting their empty cups and

placing them in the sink.

"Let him sleep. We can leave him a note so he knows where we went," Killian answered.

Emma smirked, "Last one to the shower, stands outside of the water."

That being said, she took off out of the kitchen and up the stairs. By the time Killian registered what he had said, she was already half way up the stairs. She stuck her tongue out at him when she reached the top before heading towards the master bedroom. He laughed and took off after her.

The irritating ringing of her alarm roused Regina from her sleep as she rolled over and smacked the snooze button to gain herself just a few more brief moments of sleep. However, a nagging feeling in her stomach didn't allow her to drift back off to sleep for those brief moments. She let out a huff of air as she rolled on to her side to check what time it was.

"Too early," she groaned as she turned off her alarm and sat up in bed.

She looked at her laptop and saw Robin's last message from last night before she fell asleep. She smiled softly to herself at the warm feeling that his messages always gave her. She made a mental note to do some research today on how to bring him back or at least what it means that he hasn't crossed over like she had seen her father and mother do in Underbrooke.

Regina forced herself to crawl out of bed and began getting ready for her day. She had to meet Emma at Granny's in a little over an hour so that they put a tracking spell on the necklace Hook and Charming had found would lead them.

Emma left a note for Henry stuck to the mirror in the bathroom before heading downstairs to finish getting everything ready to leave for the day. Killian was finishing up in the bedroom as he sent a quick text to Snow to see if she wanted to go ring shopping this afternoon. He laughed outloud when he read her extremely excited response, so he asked her to meet him at Granny's after Emma headed to the station. He also sent a quick text to Henry to let him know what the plan for the morning was.

"Ready to go?" Emma called up the stairs just as Killian came into view. He laughed and nodded as he came down the stairs. He took her into his arms and pulled her in close for a soft kiss before she led the way outside.

The walk to Granny's went by in a blur. Both Emma and Killian were lost in their thoughts. Killian knew that Emma needed to talk to someone other than him about the whole situation, but she had to make the effort. It wasn't his job to tell other people her personal issues. He was just worried about her. He didn't want her to feel as though she had to go through this alone.

Emma was focused on who would be the best for her to talk to about the visions. Gold, thought he was the most logical choice, was out because she didn't want to give him any indication as to where Belle was by accident. She didn't want her parents to worry about her, but she knew that she had to tell them about it at some point. She was sure that they would prefer it to be sooner rather than later. Regina was always a possibility, but she should probably wait until after she told her parents. However the only person that might be able to help her from the get go would be Archie. That meant she needed to find time to go and see him to talk. Something she definitely wasn't looking forward to.

They ate their breakfast in almost silence because they were both so distracted. They didn't even realize that Regina had come in and was standing at the end of their table until she spoke to them.

"Good Morning," she said cheerfully as she slid into the booth beside Emma. "How are you both this morning?"

"We're alright. How are you Regina?" Killian responded. Emma smiled and nodded in agreement with Killian.

"I'm doing well, thank you," Regina replied. "Can I see the necklace?"

Emma reached into her pocket and pulling it out handing it to Regina.

"We found it near a crash site on the east side of the forest," Killian explained.

Regina nodded as she looked it over. She had seen one similar to it before, but she couldn't place in her mind exactly where. There was a lurking feeling in her gut that it belonged to Hyde. Her hope was that it would lead them straight to him.

"Did you find anything else nearby? Footsteps or anything?" she asked while she continued her examination.

"Just the debris from the crash. The only footsteps we saw were our own," Killian replied. "I'm sure good old Dave would be happy to show you the way back."

"He should be headed to the station soon," Emma suggested taking one last sip of her coffee.

"I'm ready when you are," Regina said with a smile. Emma nodded and both ladies slid out of the booth.

"I'll meet you at home, later?" Emma asked before she kissed Killian on the cheek.

"Aye," he nodded.

Emma smiled at him once more before she and Regina headed out the door. Her mind felt like it was running a million miles a minute.

"You're quiet this morning," Regina remarked as they walked towards the Sheriff's station.

Emma looked at her and shrugged, "Just tired I guess."

"Doesn't seem like you're just tired," Regina said raising an eyebrow at Emma.

"Probably because it's not. There's something wrong with me," Emma sighed.

"What's going on?" Regina asked stopping in her tracks and placing a caring hand on Emma's shoulder. Emma took a deep breath before she began her explanation.

"I'm having visions, late at night. I know they aren't dreams because of how lifelike they feel. In these visions, I'm fighting with a hooded figure and every time they manage to knock me over and are holding a sword just above my heart, ready to plunge it in," Emma explained quickly.

Regina nodded. She had heard of people having visions, but usually those were seers and people who were meant to be able to see the future. Not other random people, unless maybe it was part of Emma's abilities as the Savior. Maybe Saviors were able to see their futures, too. There wasn't much known about the powers of the Savior or much known about the true power of a child of true love. Looks like they would be adding more to their pile of questions to be researched.

"In last night's vision," Emma continued, "My parents, Killian, and Henry all showed up. The last thing I heard before I woke up was their screams as the figure killed me with a sword."

Regina shook her head. "That's terrible and you have no idea who this figure is?"

"Nope, I've never been able to see it's face," Emma said.

"We'll figure it out, Emma. I promise," Regina said before they entered the Sheriff's station.

"Just don't mention it to my parents. Right now, you and Killian are the only ones who know," Emma said.

"I think I can handle that," Regina said with a smile.

"Thanks," Emma said as she held the door open for Regina and they both walked inside.

Henry's alarm was the last thing he expected to wake him up this morning. He had thought that last night was a dream. However the blaring of his alarm told him otherwise. He rolled over and turned it off before looking at the time. It was a little after nine and he could have sworn he set the alarm for eight, but it didn't really matter because it was the weekend.

Last night had been perfect, better than he could have ever dreamt it going. He checked his phone before he climbed out of bed. One text from his amazing girlfriend and one from Hook. He opened the one from Hook first and double checked the time. He needed to get out of bed so that he could go meet Hook at Granny's. He answered Violet's text as well before he got ready for his day.

Regina, Emma, and Charming were on their way out to the crash site. On their walk, Regina looked between Emma and Charming. She couldn't help but think about what had brough her and Emma to this friendship that they had now. They spent so much time fighting about who was a better mother for Henry that they almost lost him. Then they would argue about silly little things. The one fight that really still stuck with her was the night that Emma cut down her apple tree. That was the night that Emma had declared war. Luckily for them and for Henry they had worked through most of their differences. Now they had combined forces for the sake of the town.

_Regina: What the hell are you doing?_

_Emma: Picking apples._

_Regina: You're outta your mind._

_Emma: No, you are if you think a shauty frame job's enough to scare me off. You're gonna have to do better than that. You come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of the tree because, sister, you have no idea what I'm capable of. Your move._

Regina still smiled when she thought about that night. It was a good move on Emma's part. Go after something that means a lot to the mayor to get her attention. It was just Emma's form of payback and she couldn't be told she was wrong for what she did. Regina had definitely started it. It was also the moment that she found some respect for Emma because all she wanted to do was be there for her son.

"It's just up ahead here," Charming said dragging Regina out of her thought induced daze.

"Ready to try the tracking spell on it?" Emma asked pulling the necklace out of her pocket.

Regina nodded and waved Emma's hand over the necklace. It began to levitate above her hand before it began to move forward.

"Let's go!" Emma called as she chased after it. The all had to pick up their pace so that it didn't get out of their sight, but they weren't entirely successful. Soon the necklace dropped down to the ground just in front of the blimp.

"Where the hell did it go?" Regina asked stopping dead in her tracks.

"Why did it go so fast?" Charming questioned as he tried to catch his breath looking around for the necklace.

"Here it is," Emma pointed to the ground and then bent down to pick it up, slipping it in her pocket. "Why did it stop here?"

"Because it found me," a mysterious voice said from inside. Slowly he stepped out into the light.

"Jekyll?" Regina asked surprised when she saw him. "This is yours?"

Jekyll nodded. "Yes it's mine. It was supposed to be given to a lady friend of mine, but I paused my story before I ever got the chance."

"Are you alright?" Charming asked. "Why didn't you make yourself known when Hook and I were here yesterday?"

"I...I...I wasn't myself yesterday and thought that it was better for everyone that I remained hidden," Jekyll replied.

"You must be freezing, let's get you back to town. We can get you a room at Granny's," Emma suggested as she stepped closer to him. However, he backed away from her.

Regina and Charming both nodded in agreement and tried to convince Jekyll to come with them. He declined their offer telling them that he was perfectly fine where he was. He went into town when he needed to get food or anything that was important. He had everything that he could ever want on the blimp. He even told them that he had brought the blimp here when Hyde followed them to Storybrooke. He had a lab on board, that was until he made a crash landing. He urged them to leave him be and get back to their hunt for Hyde. He also promised that he would let them know if Hyde happened to show up.

As they walked back towards town, Emma turned to Charming and Regina. "Did that seem weird to either of you?"

"You mean how backwards Jekyll was?" Regina asked. "Yeah it seemed really weird to me, but I always push that off to me being the Evil Queen or at least resembling her so people are scared of me."

"Yeah, he seemed really weird to me. I'll have to keep an eye on him because something strange is definitely going on there," Emma replied.

"Is there any way we can keep an eye on him without making the hike out here everyday?" Charming asked.

Emma looked to Regina because she didn't have the answer that he was looking for. She was still new to the whole magic scene and didn't really know what to do to get the magic to work the way that she needed it to. So it was up to the person who actually knew a little bit about their powers.

"I can try to tap into a mirror is he has one inside the blimp. From the looks of him though, he doesn't look into one very often," Regina scoffed rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, you're right there. Or if he does have one, it's covered because when he sees his own reflection, all he sees is Hyde's face," Emma replied with a laugh.

Regina nodded in agreement. She understood how it felt to hate what was reflected in a mirror. She had spent the last few years trying to get over the hatred of looking in a mirror and seeing the Evil Queen's face reflected back at her. The darkness may have been separated from her body, but there was still a small piece of it lurking around in the back of her mind. It would make snarky comments at inappropriate times and took all of her control of the light side of her mind to refrain from making the comments. The internal battle was becoming stronger each day since she had split herself in half.

"Someone needs to come back here tomorrow and try to get inside the blimp," Regina said looking between Emma and Charming. She was hoping that one of them would volunteer to make the trip.

"I can come back out here. Maybe he'll talk to me if I come and see him by myself," Emma suggested. She was someone who could understand being freaked out by Regina showing up at the door. Especially in Jekyll's case because he would most likely remember her as the Evil Queen and not the person Regina had come to be in the last few years. It was quite the shock to the system for her, so she could only imagine how different she really was from the Enchanted Forest days.

"Works for me," Regina said as they walked down main street. "I'm going to go to the office to see if I can find anything out about Robin's situation and I'll look into what we discussed earlier, Emma."

Emma nodded secretly hoping that Charming didn't catch what Regina had said, but alas she wasn't so lucky.

"What'd you talk about earlier?" Charming asked curiously.

"Just something to do with her magic," Regina replied quickly so that Emma didn't have to come up with a reason. She would just have to add the minor details.

"It's been on the fritz lately, so Regina is going to see if she can find anything in her old books about why it might be acting up," Emma told Charming.

Charming nodded, "Oh okay. Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. He was always thinking about his girl. Emma, Neal, and Snow were his world and he would do everything in his power to protect them. He felt the same way about Henry, but the connection just seemed more powerful towards his wife and children. Soon his world would be expanding to incorporate Hook and any children that he and Emma decided to have. Family was everything to him especially since he had lost his family so long ago.

"Trust me, Dad, if something was really wrong I would make sure to tell you and Mom. I promise," Emma replied.

She hated lying to him like that, but she didn't understand what was happening to her well enough to try and explain it to him. Hopefully Regina would have more luck in her research than what Emma was able to find. Her research into Hyde had been less than helpful. As she thought about it, she realized that she hadn't told Regina or Charming about the missing pages in the book.

"By the way, when I was looking into Hyde yesterday I discovered that there's a page or two missing from Henry's storybook," Emma said.

"What page was missing?" Regina asked raising an eyebrow. She knew that there was a page from her story missing, but that was because the story never played out the way it was meant to play.

"The last page of Hyde's story," Emma replied, "It has everything about him having two people inside of him, but it stops just after he meets a young girl. Her name isn't even mentioned on the page that was left in the book. I didn't even see a picture of her."

"Interesting," Regina said rather bluntly.

"I wonder if the necklace Hook and I found was supposed to be a gift for this mystery woman," Charming suggested.

"Could be. I'll see what I can find out," Emma said, "Maybe I'll have more luck on the internet than I had in the library yesterday."

"Well, here's my stop," Regina said as they arrived in front of the Mayor's office, "I will let you know what I find later, okay?"

"Works for me. Thanks for the help today," Emma said.

"No problem," Regina replied before unlocking the door to the office and walked inside. Emma and Charming continued on their way back to the Sheriff's station.

Regina decided that she would look into Emma's visions before returned to her research about helping Robin because she had spent the last few nights searching, but had come up with nothing. Maybe Emma would be able to come up with something that Regina had somehow missed.

When she fired up her computer, she found a message from Robin waiting for her.

Jekyll was hiding something. He does have a mirror, but it has a blanket over it.

She stared at the screen for few minutes. She hadn't realized that Robin was able to hear the conversations that were going on. That was definitely something new because it meant that she could just talk to him, but the only way he could communicate with her was by typing. At least for now. She needed to hear his voice again. It had a magical way of soothing her.

She sent a quick text message off to Emma to let her know about the mirror and then opened her web browser to start her research. Although she didn't know where to start. Oddly enough, the cursor started moving on it's own in the search bar.

SAVIOR MAGIC

"Thanks, Robin," she whispered as she hit the enter key to begin her search. She started scrolling through the pages, completely unimpressed by anything that she had found until she stumbled upon a website that was not written in English. The other unfortunate thing about the website she had found was that it wasn't a language that she recognized. That meant that she had to go and see Gold. The last possible thing that she wanted to do in terms of this matter. She spent the rest of her afternoon in the office looking at the website she had found, hoping that she could find some kind of indication as to what language it was written in.

Meanwhile back at the Sheriff's station, Emma and Charming had been looking for information about the mystery woman in Jekyll's life and were coming up blank. Emma had been staring at the computer screen lost in thought as she considered her options to deal with the visions. The only option she knew that she had was to go and talk to Archie, but she didn't necessarily want to go alone. She was going to ask Killian to go with her. She wasn't ready to deal with the visions on her own, especially if she didn't have to.

The buzzing of her cell phone drew her out of her thoughts. She read the message from Regina and laughed to herself. That was the one helpful thing about Robin being a ghost. He could go into places that they couldn't and find out the information they would need.

"So I don't have to go back to Jekyll to find out about the mirrors," Emma said drawing Charming's eyes away from his computer screen.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Apparently Robin was with us today at the blimp and he was able to get inside and have a look around," Emma replied. "He told Regina that the mirrors inside were all covered by a blanket."

Emma could understand the ideas behind cover the mirrors. That was what she did when she was in prison. Neal had been nowhere to be found and that was a small portion of the reason that she had given up her baby for adoption. She didn't want to be reminded of the man who let her down. It was the hardest thing she had ever done. It wasn't much easier now, but after learning why Neal left her behind she had come to terms with it. The thing that made it the most simple was getting to know Henry. He was all of the good parts of her and Neal and none of the bad, or least none of the bad had started to show up. She laughed to herself as she realized that they were just entering Henry's teenage years and who knew what was going to come of them.

"So how are we going to keep an eye on him?" Charming asked.

"I'm going to go back over there tomorrow, by myself. I want to see if he will talk to me without Regina being here," Emma told him. "You know, talk to him as another person afraid to look in the mirror because of a part of your life?"

Charming nodded, "That makes sense. Hopefully he'll let you in and get to know him. I think that I am going to head home and see what your mom is up to. Keep an ear out for a phone call from her, she's been talking about having the whole family over for dinner sometime soon. It'd be nice to eat a home cooked meal from home, don't you think?"

Emma laughed, "Yeah that sounds like a wonderful idea to me. Granny just might miss the extra income from our family for the night. I'm pretty sure at least one of us eats there every single meal."

"That's very true. I think she'll be okay though," Charming said. with a laugh. He walked over and wrapped an arm around Emma placing a kiss on her head, "Love you kid. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Dad. Love you too," she said as she turned her attention back to the screen in front of her for a little while longer before she decided to head home for the night and find out what her boys were up to.


	14. Operation Swan: The Ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you to everyone who has left reviews recently! I appreciate them all, so please keep them up! I love you all very much.
> 
> This chapter was almost a complete rewrite from what it was when I originally wrote it back in November. I love the way that this chapter turned out. I do hope that you all enjoy it as well.
> 
> The usual disclaimers all apply. I don't write for profit and I'm my own beta for this story.
> 
> Song Recommendations: Jump Then Fall (In the Style of Taylor Swift) - Done Again; Drag Me Down/As Long As You Love Me - Gardiner Sisters
> 
> I would love to have you join my Facebook group: starrnobella Fans and Friends if you would be interesting in hanging out with me as an author. I have an author's page as well that you can follow along with. I'm on tumblr, instagram, and twitter as well!
> 
> If you enjoy the chapter, please leave a review! If you enjoy my writing style, please consider checking out some of my other work!
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

He sipped at his coffee as he waited for Snow and Henry to join him. The plan for the morning was to pick out Emma's engagement ring. It was probably the most nerve-wracking part of the entire process. There was the ever present concern that Emma would say no if the ring was not perfect. As silly as the thought was, it was something for him to fret over. Anything was better than fretting about her impending doom that he could do nothing about.

He was so lost in thought that he never heard Snow come in the door. She smiled when she noticed him staring out the window.

"Ready to go shopping, Killian?" Snow asked excitedly as she snuck up on him seated in the corner booth. He jumped at the sound of her voice, which caused her to giggle. She bit her lip to hide the smile that had began to form as he lifted his gaze to look at her.

"Good morning, Snow," he said with a sigh as his heartbeat returned to normal. "We are just waiting on Henry. Since I've asked him to help plan everything else, I thought it best to include him in this decision."

Snow smiled with a nod as she slid into the booth across from him. "Makes sense to me. We will help you find the perfect ring. Please, Killian, call me mom."

Killian chuckled, "Aye, love. Once I've got the ring on Emma's finger I promise to start calling you mum."

"Okay," Snow said, nodding her head. She could understand his desire to stick with tradition.

Granny spotted Snow as she came in so she grabbed an extra cup and the pot of coffee before heading over towards the booth with a smile beaming brightly from her face.

"Coffee?" she asked once she got closer. They both nodded and Killian slide his cup to the end of the table. Granny filled it up quickly.

"Thank you, love" he said as he picked his coffee cup back up.

"Thank you so much, Granny," Snow said sweetly. With a smile and a quick nod, Granny was off to wait on the other customers.

The small talk between them was only a mask for the thoughts that were running a million miles a minute through their minds. Neither one of them sure of what the future held for any of them. All they could rely on was hope.

There was nothing he could do to make things better for her. Killian knew about the awkward situation Emma had encountered with Regina earlier this week, so he was sure that this morning was no walk in the park either. It didn't help that the visions were attacking her again. She woke up shaking this morning. He held her as the tears fell from her eyes, comforting her in her time of need, being strong for her when she didn't know how to be strong for herself. He couldn't help being worried about her.

Snow was excited to see what they were going to get into today. She got to spend time with two of her favorite men. How much better could the day be? The ring was one of the most important components of a proposal. She was honored that Killian had thought to ask her to help make the selection. No matter what anyone else believed she knew that Killian was Emma's happy ending. Nothing could come between them that they wouldn't be able to overcome. She had seen proof of that.

A little while later, Killian and Snow decided that they would meet Henry at the local jewelry store. As Killian was pulling his phone out of his pocket to send a text message off to the young lad, he heard a familiar voice calling to both of them.

"Hey Hook. Hey Grandma," Henry said giving Snow a quick hug. "Sorry I'm late. I must have slept through my alarm this morning."

Killian nodded. "I figured. I was just about to text you and let you know where we went."

Henry laughed. "Well, I'm ready if you are."

Snow and Killian nodded as they got up out of the booth. Their tab was paid in full and they were off on an adventure. The outcome of their adventure was hopefully going to be a ring perfect for Emma Swan.

"So, is there any chance of us running into Emma today?" Snow asked as they walked towards the lone jewelry shop in town that was owned by Mr. Kryszkowski, the father of the orphaned siblings that Regina wanted relocated to Boston when Emma first showed up in Storybrooke.

"She's with Regina and Dave. They are running a tracking spell on a necklace we found in the woods by a crash site, so they'll be in the woods for most of the day," Killian answered pulling open the door for Snow and Henry as they arrived at the shop.

"Crash site?" Snow asked pausing momentarily in front of Killian.

"I'll fill you in later," Killian replied ushering her inside behind Henry. Henry looked at Killian puzzled as well, but he shrugged it off.

"Mr. Kryszkowski, we're here," Killian called as Snow and Henry looked around the shop admiring all of the beautiful jewelry that was housed inside. Killian wandered around as well trying to find something that caught his attention.

As Snow wandered around the shop, she was reminded of when she and Charming had met. The entire adventure in getting the ring he had planned to give to his future bride back from the trolls still made her laugh when she thought about it. She smile softly.

_Charming: So..you probably want this._

_Snow: Right. The gold. And uhm, you can't get married without this._

_Charming: I know, not your style._

_Snow: Well, there's only one way to find out. Yeah, not me at all. I'm sure your fiancee will love it._

_Charming: Yeah. You know if you need more, you can have the rest. The ring is all I require._

_Snow: Oh no, I'm good. Thanks. We both got what we wanted._

_Charming: Well, wherever you're going be careful. If you need, anything.._

_Snow: You'll find me._

_Charming: Always._

_Snow: I almost believe that._

_Charming: Well. Goodbye, Snow White._

_Snow: Goodbye, Prince Charming._

_Charming: I told you it's James._

_Snow: Nah. I still like Charming better._

Finding each other was what she and Charming were good at, whether they were in the Enchanted Forest or here in Storybrooke under a curse where they had no memories of their past self. He would always be Charming to her, no matter how many times he told her otherwise.

"Snow, Henry, Hook! Welcome! I am so excited to have you all here today," Mr. Kryszkowski exclaimed as he walked out from the back room with a smile on his face. It was nice to have customers in his shop for once. There weren't many people buying jewelry in Storybrooke lately.

"Thank you for having us," Snow said as she gave Mr. Kryszkowski a quick hug when he came to greet them.

"It's my pleasure," he said as he extended a hand to Killian followed by Henry after releasing Snow. "So what are we looking for today? A nice necklace? A tennis bracelet?"

"Actually, we are looking for a ring," Killian said calmly as he eyes wandered over the case that housed the diamonds. Snow smiled as she stepped up to Killian and placed a gentle hand on his back.

"An engagement ring, to be exact," Snow spoke up.

"For the lovely Miss Swan? Oh, how wonderful!" he exclaimed with a large smile on his face.

"Well over here we have a large collection of diamond engagement rings, if diamonds are what you are interested in," he added walking over towards the case Killian had been looking at intently.

"Henry, what do you think? Diamond or?" Killian asked looking at the lad over his shoulder. He was looking at a different case of rings.

"Diamond. The simpler the better for mom," Henry said without looking away from the case in front of him, "and it should be silver, not gold."

"Why is that, Henry?" Snow asked curiously. She did like the idea of silver instead of gold, but that was because silver was her personal preference. She didn't know that Emma had any preference to one or the other.

"Because the silver will stand out against her skin and it will shine. Besides the ring that Walsh picked out was gold. I don't think you want to remind her of that monkey, do you?" Henry laughed looking back over his shoulder.

Killian shook his head, "No, I'd rather not. Silver it is."

Killian looked at the rings on his own hand and thought of the one he had put on a chain to give Emma. Silver was definitely her color. It looked perfect against her skin. There was a small piece of him that thought maybe he should giver her one of his rings, but the memories connected to those rings were not happy ones. He wanted her engagement ring to have happy memories connected to it.

Mr. Kryszkowski smiled and clasped his hands together as he spoke, "Excellent. So simple, silver, diamond. Let's start over here, shall we?"

Mr. Kryszkowski led them over to the display case he had referred to a few cases down from where Killian was looking and showed them a myriad of rings. Some with large diamonds and some with small diamonds. There were rings with one large diamond surrounded by a chorus of smaller ones. Others were a sea of small diamonds so close together that it looked like a single diamond. However, nothing they saw screamed out to them as the perfect ring for Emma.

Killian was starting to get frustrated. Maybe he was being just too damn picky. Maybe he didn't really know what Emma would like at all. He had never known her to wear much jewelry. Maybe she'd like an engagement jacket. They could get matching ones. Leather he knew and understood, engagement rings on the other were uncharted waters.

To say she was disappointed may have been an understatement. Snow looked down at the ring on her own hand. It was perfect for her. Every time she looked at it or saw the sun refracting through it, she felt her heart flutter and a warm smile grew on her face. That's what she wanted to happen when Emma looked at her own ring. She wanted it to be a reminder of just how far she had come.

Henry, on the other hand, had stopped looking at the rings Mr. Kryszkowski was showing them and wandered to the other side of the store. He had found another small segment of casing that housed a few other odds and ends of jewelry. One piece sparkled in the light and caught the corner of his eye. He was drawn to it. A large smile grew on his face as he looked at the ring through the glass. It was simple. The stone looked to be half a carat and the white gold band was braided halfway down on either side of the stone.

"Perfect," Henry whispered to himself. Killian and Snow heard him and turned around on their heels.

"What'd you find, Henry?" Snow asked excitedly as she walked towards him. Her eyes lit up when she saw the ring in the case.

"Killian, come look at this," she said cheerfully. He nodded and quickly crossed the shop joining Snow and Henry. "Look," she said pointing to the ring.

"Mr. Kryszkowski, can we take a look at this ring?" Killian asked. Mr. Kryszkowski joined them quickly.

"Oh, I can't believe I forgot about this ring! It fits your description perfectly," Mr. Kryszkowski said pulling the ring out of the case. He handed it to Killian.

Killian looked at it closely for a few moments. It was everything he could have asked for. He turned to Snow and Henry. "Do you think this is the one?"

They both nodded excitedly and it made him laugh. They had done it. They had found the perfect ring.

"I'll get this wrapped up for you then," Mr. Kryszkowski said happily. He took the ring back from Killian and left them as he slipped into the back room momentarily.

"Step one of Operation Swan complete," Henry said proudly looking between Snow and Killian with a smile on his face.

"Operation Swan?" Snow asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing over to look at Killian.

"The mission to get Hook and Mom married," he replied quickly. Snow nodded her head up and down slowly.

"Actually, mate, it's step two complete," Killian corrected him.

"Step two?" Henry asked. His brow was furrowed with confusion. _Ring. Place. Ask. Three steps._

"Aye," Killian said nodding his head. "First step was getting Snow and Charming's blessing.

Henry smiled. Of course the blessing was a big deal. With how traditional Hook was, that simple tradition was bound to be an integral part of the plan.

"Here you go," Mr. Kryszkowski announced coming back into view. He handed Killian the small black box in exchange for the money that Killian had in his hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Kryszkowski," Killian said. Mr. Kryszkowski nodded as he added the payment to the register.

"How are your children, Mr. Kryszkowski?" Snow asked.

He smiled as he spoke. "They are well. I am so thankful to Miss Swan that she was able to bring them back to me. They miss having you as a teacher."

Snow smiled. "I miss teaching them."

As she continued to talk with Mr. Kryszkowski, she realized just how much she missed her students. The time she had taken off to be Mayor seemed like it had lasted far too long. She'd have to talk to Charming and Regina to see if they would object to her returning to the classroom. It always made her happy when she saw the spark of knowledge growing in her students eyes. Besides, she just missed seeing them all.

"Be sure to tell them I said hello. We will let you get back to your shop," Snow said ushering Killian and Henry towards the door. "Thank you so much, Mr. Kryszkowski."

"Yes, thank you for everything," Killian said reaching out a hand to shake Mr. Kryszkowski's hand.

"You're very welcome. Be sure to let me know what Miss Swan thinks of the ring. Congratulations, Captain. You're a lucky man," Mr. Kryszkowski remarked. "Have a good day."

Snow, Henry, and Killian bid farewell to Mr. Kryszkowski as they left the shop each headed their own way. Snow departed to pick up Neal from daycare while Killian and Henry headed back to the Swan-Jones home to store the ring. They happened to have plenty of time to hid the ring.

"So why don't you teach me how to use your gaming system?" Killian said as they settled into the living room and motioned to the tv.

"Sure, what kind of game strikes your fancy? Racing? Action?" Henry asked walking over to power up the system.

"Whichever is easiest to learn," Killian replied with a laugh.

"Racing it is," Henry decided as he brought the controllers over to the couch.

He quickly went through the how-tos of the controllers and the game. It was much less complicated than Killian had originally thought. Although, having a hook instead of a hand gave the game play a few issues of it's own. They spent the next hour or so playing the same racing game over and over again. The banter between them was entertaining for anyone walking past the open window opposite them.

"C'mon Hook, we're racing ships. I thought you knew how to steer these."

"Aye, I know how to steer a real ship. I don't have any control over this vessel. Besides, don't get cocky. I'm catching up with you, mate."

"Not for long, old man."

"Ha-ha caught you! And now I'm taking the lead."

This was the conversation Emma was greeted with as she walked up to the house. IT was the first time since she had left Killian at Granny's that a genuine smile had graced her face. At least she knew Killian and Henry had a good and productive day.

Emma shook her head and laughed to herself as she walked through the front door. The laugher and remarks coming from the living room brought a big smile to her face. She leaned up against the door frame of the living room crossing her arms over her chest and watched them for a few minutes. The simplicity of it all reminded her why she had chosen to stay in Storybrooke rather than return to Boston.

"Hey guys," she called from the doorway. The mysterious voice brought both of them out of their video game induced trace and they turned to look in the direction of the voice.

"Hey mom," Henry replied pausing the game, "How are you?"

"Hey, love," Killian said sweetly with a smirk.

"I'm alright. How are you?"

They looked at each other and shrugged before replying in unison, "We're good."

Emma raised an eyebrow as she glanced back and forth between the two of them. Something was up, but she knew that one of them would tell her eventually so she shook it off. Killian and Henry looked at each other again and started laughing.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing," they replied again in unison.

Killian stood up from the couch and walked over towards Emma wrapping her up in a hug.

"Hey," he said after placing a kiss on her forehead, "Did you find anything today in the woods?"

Emma shook her head. "It was a dead end. The necklace took us back to the crash site. Jekyll was there, but he shooed us away as quickly as he could. Probably because we had Regina with us, but something was definitely wrong with that man."

She rested her head against his chest as she snuggled into him. She felt safe in his arms and the more time she spent there, the less the visions seemed to occur. She was sure he hated waking up in the middle of the night with her shaking and sobbing beside him. Each night the visions got more and more vivid, but she always woke up when the figure was holding a sword just inches above her heart, ready to stab her.

"I'm sorry, love," Killian mumbled as he rubbed his hand up and down her back, resting his chin atop her head.

She squeezed him tight before leaning back to look up at him with a faint smile on her face, "It's alright. We'll just have to head back there again tomorrow and keep looking. Did you two get into anything today other than your racing game?"

"Nope," Henry answered shaking his head, "I beat him in every race."

"All but the last one there, mate. I was winning," Killian said smugly sticking out his tongue at Henry.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Yeah for like two seconds. I would have won if we wouldn't have paused the game."

"I guess we won't find out until we unpause the game," Killian remarked.

Killian and Henry started at each other intently for a few moments. Emma laughed as she let go of Killian pushing him gently.

"Go finish your game and then we can go grab dinner," Emma sighed reluctantly. She rolled her eyes as Killian kissed her cheek quickly before returning to finish the race he was winning.

She walked over to the chair beside the couch plopping down to watch them race. After all, it should only take them a few minutes to finish one race. It seemed so intense, but at the same time it was something so normal. Just a typical family night in playing video games. She couldn't asked for anything better.

Forty-five minutes and three do over races later, Henry and Killian were finally ready to go get some food. Grabbing their jackets, the Mills-Swan-Jones family were out the door and headed towards their favorite restaurant in town when Emma's phone started ringing.

"Hello?" she said. Killian and Henry both stopped in their tracks waiting for her to get off the phone.

"Hey. Yeah, we were just on our way out to get some dinner. Uhm, sure. We'll be right over. See you soon," she said. She turned to Killian and Henry. "Change of plans. We are having dinner with my parents tonight, if that's okay with you both."

"Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa? Sure!" Henry cheered with a smile on his face.

"Fine with me," Killian answered taking Emma's hand in his. Together they walked over to the Charmings' apartment and Henry dashed inside.

Killian stopped and took Emma by the waist. He leaned in close brushing his lips against hers. She smiled as she melted into him wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Mmmm, what was that for?" she whispered as she pulled away looking into his eyes.

"I missed you today," he answered softly. She smiled and kissed him again softly.

"I missed you, too," she replied, "Let's go inside."

"Do we have to? Can't we go just go back to our empty house?" he begged with his best puppy dog face.

She shook her head taking his hand and pulling him towards the door. "Nope. It might look a bit odd if Henry is here and we aren't. I'll make it up to you later. I promise"

Killian quirked his eyebrow in curiosity at what she had in mind.


	15. Family Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I am currently relaxing at the beach for the week hoping to get some writing done for a few other stories so that they can be written as far in advance as this one is. It's been a crazy week and a half that's for sure.
> 
> Song Recs - Family is Family - Kacey Musgraves; Somewhere in Neverland - All Time Low; Fight the Good Fight - Triumph
> 
> If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider dropping me a review! It would mean a lot to me!
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

As they walked through the door to the Charmings' apartment, they were met with a scene of controlled chaos. Her parents were busy in the small kitchen and Henry had plopped himself down in front of the television. Emma laughed to herself. He hadn't even been inside two minutes and the tv had been commandeered. Much to her surprise she spotted Regina sitting at the island talking to Snow.

"Hey everyone," Emma said releasing Killian's hand to go stand near the island.

Snow looked up and smiled at both of them. "It's about time you two got here."

"We were two minutes behind Henry coming inside," Emma insisted, rolling her eyes.

Snow laughed. "I know. I'm only teasing. Could you get Neal for me?"

'Sure," Emma said nodding her head. "Where is he?"

"In the nursery. He should be awake from his nap by now," Snow said turning to stir something in a pot on the stove.

Emma hurried off to get Neal out of his crib bringing him into the kitchen. While bouncing him up and down, she was whispering things in his ear causing him to giggle. Killian watched her in awe as she played with Neal. He knew that she had been terrified to hold him for the longest time. She felt as though she knew nothing about babies due to her lack of involvement in Henry's life from the day he was born. She was unsure what do with both him and Neal, afraid that they would break, but as Killian looked at her now that fear was gone, all that was left was pure joy.

As he watched her, he thought about how she would be with children of their own. He was sure that she'd sing them lullabies and tell them stories. His hope was that one of the stories she would tell were of how they fell in love; omitting the numerous times she tried to kill him. She'd play games with them and teach them how to be strong like her. He wasn't worried about Emma. It was his own capabilities as a father that concerned him. Only time would tell.

"Need any help, Grandma?" Henry asked as he walked into the kitchen from the living room.

"If you could set the table for me, that'd be great," she answered with a nod.

"Okay," Henry responded, smiling as he grabbed the plates and silverware out of the cupboard.

Snow smiled as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was always so willing to help when anyone needed it. Violet was a very lucky girl; he would make her the happiest young lady alive.

"What smells so good?" Regina asked walking around the island to stand closer to the rest of them.

"Homemade meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy," Charming announced.

"Meat loaf? What the bloody hell is that?" Killian asked concerned. He never heard of meat coming in the form of a loaf.

Emma laughed. "It's hamburger mixed with bread crumbs or stuffing and some other ingredients that you form into the shape of a loaf and bake."

Killian nodded his head, although he still wasn't sure what to think of the dish. Meat shaped like a loaf of bread didn't sound the most appealing.

"And it will be ready in about fifteen minutes," Charming chimed in.

This was nice. The whole family together for dinner. Just the way he always pictured it would have been if they hadn't sent Emma through the portal. Although, had they not sent her through, they wouldn't have Henry. Regina would still be trying to kill them and Hook would not have come into their lives because they never would have gone to Neverland to rescue Henry from Pan. As topsy-turvy as their lives had been to this point, Charming realized that he wouldn't change a thing as long as it brought him back to this.

Snow took Neal from Emma after after his dinner was ready to feed him. While Neal ate, she looked around at the people in her kitchen. This was how families were supposed to be. Emma and Regina had worked things out. Regina still needed to talk to Zelena, but no one could force her to do that. Especially if she isn't ready to see her sister after everything that had happened.

"So did you all find anything today in your search?" Snow asked.

"Unfortunately, no we didn't," Regina began. "Whoever owns that necklace is at that crash site somewhere, but not in the places we looked"

"I think we are going back tomorrow, or at least I am," Emma added.

Regina nodded. It wasn't like the mayor had anything important to do in a town that basically ran itself. She was more of figurehead, or at least that's how she felt after the first curse was broken. So she thought that she might as well help out the Sheriff's office and find the man that claims he owns the whole town now.

"If you'd like an extra hand, love, I can tag along," Killian chimed in with a charming smile. Emma blushed as she smiled back.

"Alright, enough with the puppy dog eyes," Charming called, rolling his eyes. "Dinner is served. Everyone grab a seat."

Everyone gathered around the table. Snow joined them as soon as she had put Neal in the play pen. Emma and Killian were sitting together on one side of the table. Regina and Henry were across from them and Snow and Charming had the ends of the table. They looked like one big happy family.

Lurking outside and peaking in the window was the Evil Queen. The whole thing made her sick. Regina wouldn't be dining with Snow White if she were still connected with her evil half. Years of hatred and revenge seeking completely wasted. It was a disgrace to the crown she had worked so hard to gain. She would find a way to take away all of the happiness. She narrowed her sights in on the Savior. If she could rid this town of its Savior then no one would be happy. All she needed now was a plan.

"Don't get too comfortable," she hissed before leaving behind her usual cloud of purple smoke as she disappeared.

Dinner went by without interruption. The whole lot of them trying to figure out a way to lure Hyde out of hiding. They also talked about Henry and his date the night before. All of them very happy to hear that all had gone well.

Henry blushed the entire time they were talking about and his face took to an even darker crimson shade when Snow insisted on inviting her to the next family dinner. He told her that he'd think about it. Although it may be best if she meets his family in small doses rather than all at once.

"So, I have something I want to talk to you all about," Snow announced as the excitement around the table died down.

"What's up, Snow?" Charming asked as concern growing on his face as to what was so important that everyone needed to hear it.

"I saw an old friend today whose kids I used to teach when I worked at the school. Seeing him made me think about how much I missed teaching, so I was thinking…" she trailed off as she stared at the empty plate in front of her.

"You want to go back to teaching," Charming said softly, causing her to lift her head back up and nod. He touched her hand and smiled. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"I don't know," she chuckled nervously. "I guess I just wasn't ready to admit it to myself. But I really do miss working with the kids and seeing them everyday in the hallways at school. Regina would it be alright with you if I went back to the school?"

"Absolutely. I need someone I know I can trust in there," Regina joked.

Snow's face lit up. "Really? You won't mind being all alone in that big office?"

Regina shook her head. "Not at all. It's really more of a figurehead position anyways. Emma and Charming do most of the work to keep the town in line. I'm only useful when something goes terribly wrong or we need to gather the whole town together. Now that I think about it, that didn't really work either."

They all laughed. It was true. None of them could get everyone in town to come together, even when they had gone specifically to the ones they knew trusted them with their entire lives and told them what was going on. If they were lucky, half of the people in town would make a concerted effort to attend, but they would still be missing some people.

Snow smiled to herself. She was returning to work as a teacher. Granted it wouldn't be at the grade school level like she had done during the first curse, it would be a little bit older. However she couldn't object. She loved kids and this gave her a chance to be around something she loved.

After dinner was done and the dishes had been cleaned, they all sat down in front of the television to watch a movie. The movie of choice was Peter Pan. Emma thought it would do Killian some good to see what he looked like in the mind of Walt Disney.

"What the bloody hell is that on my lip?" Killian exclaimed as he looked at the strange man on the television, "and what is wrong with my hair? Why is it so bushy?"

Emma could not stop laughing. In fact, tears were starting to fall from her eyes because she was laughing so hard. Regina, Snow, Charming, and Henry were laughing as well, but Emma had a plan in mind for each of them too. She was going to show them what Walt Disney thought each of them looked like as well on other movie nights. She wasn't to sure that her mom and dad would be okay with being married to other people, but she would sure get a kick out of it.

"Why does Pan look so happy? Why is Tinkerbell so little? I don't think Tink would appreciate how short her skirt is or the fact that she can't speak!" Killian continued to rant, flailing his arms about. "What are you lot laughing at?"

They answered in unison. "You!"

Emma wrapped an arm around his neck as she pulled him back into the couch and kissed his cheek.

"It's just a movie, Killian. Besides, your character isn't the good one in this movie. So I like the real you much better," she whispered in his ear, "and I can't wait to get you home to bed."

Killian smirked as he listened to what she was saying. He couldn't wait to get her home to bed either, but it would be quite rude to bail out before the movie was over. So he settled back against the couch and placed an arm around Emma pulling her in close to his body. He kissed the top of the head as she cuddled in close to watch the rest of the movie.

"Why does the bloody crocodile sound like a clock?" he exclaimed as the movie neared to an end. "And why the bloody hell am I afraid of it?"

"The crocodile sounds like a clock because it swallowed one and you are afraid of it because it is the reason you have a hook for a hand," Henry said with a laugh.

"Well, at least they got something right. Damn crocodile," Killian huffed as he sunk back into the couch again after his outburst. Emma kissed his cheek after he got comfortable.

The movie finished and everyone started to gather their things and say their goodbyes. Henry had told Emma that he would be staying at Regina's tonight. With a sly glance, Emma looked over her shoulder at Killian, winking to let him know that they were definitely home alone for the night and a wicked grin grew on his face.

"Let's go home, Swan," he said taking her hand. "Thanks for dinner, Snow, Dave. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Night everyone! Thanks for dinner," Emma called as they walked hand in hand towards the door. Slipping out the door, they never looked back as they walked home. Both of them entertaining thoughts about what the night held playing through their mind.

"They don't act like that when you're in the house, right?" Regina asked looking at Henry as they stood in the kitchen of Snow and Charming's apartment.

"They have puppy dog eyes and exchange sly glances, but nothing like that," Henry laughed. "Don't worry, mom."

"I'll try not to," Regina chuckled. "Ready to go?"

Henry nodded, "Yup! Thanks for dinner."

He gave Snow and Charming each a hug and ran off to the nursery to say goodbye to Neal.

"Thanks for inviting me tonight," Regina said quietly as she looked between Snow and Charming.

"Regina, you are a part of this family. You are always welcome at family dinner," Snow said as she wrapped her arms around Regina giving her a hug. Regina smiled returning the hug. It was nice to feel like a part of a family again. Since Robin had died, the only family she truly felt like she had was Henry and even then he wasn't just a part of her family, he was part of a bigger family.

"Thank you, Snow," Regina told her.

"Thanksgiving will be entertaining this year don't you think?" Charming added absentmindedly as his thoughts drifted back to the conversation he and Snow had had a while back about their family tree and how many twist and turns it contained.

_Charming: So Rumplestiltskin is Henry's grandfather?_

_Snow: You can have more than one._

_Charming: So his step-grandmother is Regina. The Evil Queen._

_Snow: Actually, his step-great grandmother. And she's also his adoptive mother._

_Charming: It's a good thing we don't have Thanksgiving in our land 'cause that dinner would suck._

Snow laughed remembering that conversation before she spoke again. "Come to think of it, we probably need to start planning for Thanksgiving. This land does celebrate it."

"Oh, yeah. You're probably right," Regina said scratching her head, "How is that going to work?"

"I vote that it's an idea we figure out at another time because we've got quite the guest list if you look at our family," Charming said as he wrapped an arm around Snow's waist.

"You're right. It is getting late. Both you and Henry have school tomorrow," Regina added pointing to Snow.

At this point, Henry had returned."What'd I miss?"

"We were just talking about Thanksgiving," Snow said with a smile.

"What about just having a giant Thanksgiving for everyone in town?" Henry suggested shrugging his shoulders.

"That could work," Regina said looking at Snow. "We'll plan it later though. Let's head home, Henry."

They all bid their goodnights and Henry and Regina made their way home for the night. They talked quietly about their day. The sparkle in his eye as he spoke about the young lady warmed her heart.

"So when do I get meet her?" Regina asked jokingly pushing his shoulder softly.

Henry blushed. "Soon. I'd like to spend a little more time with her before I introduce her to my wacky family."

Henry smirked as Regina's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe he had just called her wacky. She was the spitting image of royalty and deserved to be treated as such. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as though she had something to say, but she opted not to say anything.

As they walked, they both felt an eerie feeling that they were being watched by someone other than Robin. Each of them taking turns peering over their shoulder to see if someone was there. All they saw however was darkness.

Hiding in that darkness was the Evil Queen. She cursed to herself when she realized that she was blowing her own cover. The darkness was her friend and yet all she was doing was getting too close. They had almost seen her on numerous occasions. Although that may not have been a bad thing. It would give her a chance to spook them a little bit. Just have herself a bit of fun.

"I don't understand why you refuse to use magic to get home. You know if you don't use those skills of yours, you'll lose 'em," the Evil Queen hummed as she revealed herself from the shadows.

"What the hell?" Regina said spinning on her heels to find the spitting image of herself looking straight back at her. "Henry. Go home."

Henry turned around and saw the Evil Queen standing there. He looked at his mom as she told him to go furrowing his brow. He couldn't leave her there by herself. That wasn't fair to her.

"Henry, go. I'll be fine," she pleaded with him. After a few more moments of pleading looks between the pair, Henry caved and left Regina alone. He was frustrated that she wouldn't let him help, but he knew that she was more worried about his safety.

"You didn't need to send him away. I'd never hurt him. I'm his mother, too," the Evil Queen mocked.

"You aren't his mother," Regina hissed.

"I'm just as much his mother as you are. I'm the part of you that helped to raise him. I was there from the time he was a baby until _you_ forced me out of your body," the Evil Queen remarked.

"Now that you mention that, I thought I killed you," Regina snarled.

"You really think that you could kill me? You and I are the same person. Think about it, dearie," the Evil Queen hissed.

The color fled from Regina's face as she realized why the Evil Queen hadn't died when they were in New York. She thought that the Queen was dead. She saw the dust fall from her hand as she crushed the heart, but she was now realizing that it was all a charade. They were two parts of the same person. It meant that they shared one heart and the heart that she crushed in New York was fake. The Dragon had warned her of what would happen and she didn't listen.

"That's right, darling. As long as one lives, so shall the other," the Evil Queen chanted with a wicked smile on her face as she watched the sadness take over Regina's face.

Regina couldn't talk. She had to get out of there. This was all a dream. All she had to do was pinch herself and she would wake up. The Evil Queen would be gone and she could go back to her life. She didn't need to add figuring out a way to kill the Evil Queen to the long list of things she needed to do already.

"I'm just gonna let you think about that for a while. I'll see you soon," the Evil Queen hummed with a wave before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Regina fell to her knees as her sobbing took over her body. This couldn't be real. It just couldn't. How was she supposed to explain to Henry that the only way to defeat the Evil Queen was to kill herself? She couldn't do that to him. She knew her son far too well, he would tell her to have hope. Just like everyone in the Charming family believed, hope was always the answer. Only this time, hope wasn't going to be enough.

The Evil Queen was cackling when she appeared in Zelena's kitchen. Tormenting others always pleased her. It brought a wicked smile to her face that no one could wipe off.

However, she couldn't stop replaying Regina's words in her head. Henry was just as much her son as that weak shell of her former self was. She had been there to see Henry's first steps and hear his first words. She knew what made him feel better when he was sick and what kinds of things could always cheer him up when he was sad. Hell, she knew more about him than the Savior did. She could always get Henry to come to her side. She was his mother, after all.

"Would you quit your cackling?" Zelena hissed coming into the kitchen from the nursery. "I just got Robin to sleep and you are going to wake her."

"Hush you," the Evil Queen replied. "Just put a little spell on her and then you won't have to worry about her waking from my cackling. If you won't do it, I will."

The Evil Queen started to walk towards the nursery when Zelena spoke again.

"Leave her alone. I've put up a sound shield on her room, so you can't wake her," she sighed.

"So you do still know how to use your powers. I thought you had forgotten," the Evil Queen replied gleefully.

"Where have you been?" Zelena asked. "Not that I really want to know, but in case they come here looking for me I can at least lie about knowing you."

"Regina knows I'm here, so you won't have to lie to her. I made myself known this evening actually," the Evil Queen declared.

"Why would you reveal yourself? Did you decide how you are going to destroy the happy endings?" Zelena stammered curiously.

"Not yet, just having some fun. Besides I went to visit an old friend earlier. I'll have some help on my side soon. You're with me aren't you sis?" the Evil Queen asked.

Zelena wasn't sure how to answer. From personal experience, going up against Regina and her friends was a bad idea. She had to consider what had happened to herself and especially what had happened to Hades when he went against them. He ended up dead, but then again so did Robin. Robin had died trying to save Regina. She needed to know how this little plan of her sister's was going to benefit her before she decided whose side she was on.

"What am I going to get out of this? Because everyone I've seen go up against Regina and Emma have ended up either banished to another world or dead. Death is not really something I am would like to see happen to me, since that would leave Robin without a mother," Zelena said.

"What makes you think I'll fail? Have you forgotten that I am half of who you are planning to go up against? Don't you think that if I would have still been a large part of who Regina is that maybe your precious daughter's father would still be alive?" the Evil Queen suggested. "If she hadn't stifled me, he could have survived because I had what it takes to destroy Hades."

Zelena paused thinking over the Evil Queen's words. There was no way to know for sure what would have happened had things happened differently.

"Do you have the power to bring Robin back?" Zelena asked quietly. She had to guarantee her daughter would not grow up alone like she had to; her daughter needed someone who would love her for her entire life. Especially if Zelena's fate may be signed away for choosing to go against the light.

"I don't think you're ready for the answer to that question," the Evil Queen responded. "Are you with me or against me?"

"I don't know. Give me a chance to think about it," Zelena pleaded causing the Evil Queen to roll her eyes.

"Fine," she growled. "Take your time. I can't do anything just yet anyways. Don't expect me to give you an answer to your question without an answer to mine."

Zelena nodded. She needed to find out if there was truth to what the Evil Queen was saying. She needed to talk to Rumple, but she wasn't sure that he would be willing to talk to her. Especially since her beloved is the reason that Belle put herself under a sleeping curse.

She shook her head and looked towards Robin's nursery. If there was a way that her father could be brought back to life, then she needed to do whatever it would take. Robin didn't deserve to grow up without a father. If Zelena hadn't morphed into Marian,then this whole dilemma could have been avoided. She had to fix this and make things right.

Emma and Killian made their way home after dinner. Emma decided that it was finally a good time to fill him in on today's happenings.

"So I told Regina about the visions today," she admitted rather bluntly.

Killian stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh?"

"I wanted to know if she knew anything what could be causing it. I figured that Gold wouldn't be much help, which is why I didn't go to him," she replied.

Killian nodded. The crocodile would not be much help to them at all. He was too wrapped up in his own drama to care about helping anyone else. The crocodile only thought about himself and what he could do to help make his life better.

In the case of Belle that meant waking her up so that he would have her with him, even if that wasn't what Belle wanted. With Milah, it was the same thing. Milah didn't want Rumple, she wanted Killian. That led to Milah's death, not once, but twice. All because what she didn't share the same wishes as the Dark One.

"What about your parents?" he asked.

"Not yet. Not until I can tell them why I'm having the visions or what I am going to do to stop them from happening," Emma stated. "I can't worry them. It's not fair. This isn't their burden to bear. Honestly had I not woken you up when they happened, I wouldn't have told you or anyone else. I didn't want you to think that you could be losing your happy ending."

"Emma, you don't need to protect me from the truth. It would have hurt more losing you and not knowing why. I would rather worry about you now rather than always wondering why," Killian insisted.

"I don't do well with sharing important information about myself, in case you've forgotten. There is still a part of me that will always put up these walls," Emma said motioning around her.

"I thought you promised me that you were going to take off the armor," Killian said taking a step towards her.

"I'm trying, aren't I? I told you about what was going on," she said lowering her eyes.

"Only because I was there when you woke up screaming. I know you are trying, love. But you need to open up to your parents before it is too late," Killian replied pushing her chin up with his hand so that her eyes met his.

Emma sighed in frustration. She knew that Killian was right even though she didn't want him to be. It annoyed her when he was right because it was usually happened when she was being stubborn. Maybe if she stopped being stubborn, he would quit being right. A girl can always dream, right?

"Can we just go home?" Emma pleaded taking Killian's hand away from her chin trying to pull him along with her. Reluctantly he followed along. He was frustrated that she would have hidden the truth from him, but he could understand her reasoning.

"Did you find anything out about the necklace today?" he asked as they walked.

"Yeah, he's living in that blimp that crashed. It was how he followed Hyde from the Land of Untold stories," she replied.

"So you talked to him?"

"Kind of. He wouldn't let us inside so we didn't get much information out of him. I think that part of it was having Regina there. People still think of her as the Evil Queen instead of the ball of joy we all know and love."

Killian couldn't help snickering at the sarcasm in Emma's voice. She smiled when she heard him laugh. It had been a while since she had heard a true laugh from him. Usually around her family it was just the fake laugh that he did when he didn't know what to say in response to something they found funny about his old fashion persona.

They walked the rest of the way home in relative silence. They exchanged hidden glances that the other was aware of, but didn't say anything. By the time they got home, they were both more tired than they had expected.

"I'm exhausted," Emma said hanging up her coat and making her way slowly towards the stairs.

"Aye, me too," Killian responded following suit.

"Let's go to bed," she told him taking his hand and pulling him up the steps behind her. Once they got to their bedroom, they both changed quickly and crashed on the bed.

"Hold me," she said as she curled up against his chest.

"Forever, love," Killian told her wrapping an arm around her slender frame as they drifted off to sleep.


	16. Thoughts, Plans, and Schemes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello my loves, I'm sorry this took longer than expected to get out to you and I'm sorry if it's a bit confusing. This chapter was basically a half and half chapter. I wrote part of it during NaNoWriMo in November and the other part of it in Camp NaNo in April. Hopefully after this chapter things start to make a little more sense.
> 
> There is still a lot left to this story even though I have 12 more chapters pre-written. The ending that I was planning for this story will eventually happen, but I am starting to realize that just an epilogue won't cover the pieces that I still need to address so that means it looks like there will be sequel to this at some point. Although not for a while.
> 
> Song Recommendations: Raise Hell - Dorothy; Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers; I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In - Princeton Footnotes
> 
> If you have enjoyed the chapter, please consider leaving a review! School year is getting ready to start which means my life is becoming a million times busier, but I promise to keep writing!
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

The internal battle raging inside her head was not allowing Zelena to fall asleep that night. She needed to know if Robin could be brought back from the dead. The untimely death that he had fallen a victim to because of her. She laid in bed tossing back and forth as the thoughts played through her mind. The guilt was becoming too much for her to bear.

The Evil Queen sat in the chair opposite the bed just watching her toss back and forth. A wicked smile grew on her face. She knew that the possibility of her abilities was what her beloved sister was wrestling with. Yes, it was true, she could bring Robin back to life with a little help, but why would she do something that would give Regina a happy ending? The whole point of her evil scheme was to take away the happy endings, not assist in bringing them to life.

Suddenly, Zelena shot straight up in bed. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to know the truth. No matter what it cost her.

"Couldn't sleep?" the Evil Queen cooed, studying her nails, waiting for Zelena to say something.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Zelena barked.

"I could hear you tossing and turning, so I decided to come watch the show. Something you want to tell me?" she said sweetly with a grin upon her face.

"I'll help you destroy the happy endings...on one condition," Zelena said firmly.

"What condition is that?" the Evil Queen replied.

"Bring Robin back," Zelena responded.

"Why the hell would I do that? The whole point of this is to destroy the happy endings. Bringing him back would just give Regina hers!" the Evil Queen shouted, throwing her hands up into the air and rising from her seat.

"Because, regardless of the outcome, I want my daughter to know her father," Zelena confirmed, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's the deal. If you want me on your side, then you have to bring him back."

The Evil Queen rolled her eyes. If she gave in on this demand, then it could be the only one that she couldn't allow anyone else to try and make deals. If she didn't stand firm on this, then it would mean she would have to make deals with Rumplestiltskin, something she was already dreading, but his magic was greater than her's and Zelena's combined.

"What if I promise to bring him back  _after_ I take away the happy endings?" the Evil Queen hinted, hoping to maintain the upper hand.

Zelena shook her head. "He needs to come back before for the sake of my daughter. I need to be able to leave her with someone while I go off and raise hell with you."

The Evil Queen huffed. "Fine. It will take some time."

"Until he's alive, I won't help you with anything, but you can continue to stay here," Zelena replied, leaning back against her pillow. "Now, please go. I'd like to get a few hours of sleep before Robin wakes up."

"As you wish," the Evil Queen said as she walked out of the room. She needed to gather the materials necessary to raise someone from the dead and it wasn't going to be an easy shopping trip, at least here in Storybrooke. If she were back in the Enchanted Forest, then it may have been slightly easier. She rolled her eyes as she went back to the room she had been staying in.

. . . . . . . .

Emma awoke the next morning surprisingly well rested. It was the first night in a week that she had been able to sleep the whole way through the night without the nightmares jarring her awake. She looked over at Killian who was fast asleep and smiled.  _Her knight in shining armor, always there when she needed him._

As she yawned, she decided to run to the restroom to freshen up before he woke up. She brushed her teeth quickly and splashed a little bit of water onto her face. Then, she walked back into the bedroom and curled up beside the sleeping pirate. She placed a soft kiss on his neck as she snuggled in close.

He had felt the bed shift when she climbed out, but he didn't know that she had returned until he felt her soft kisses on his neck. He smiled as he wrapped his arms tight around her, pulling her in close.

"Good morning, love," he said, kissing the top of her head.

She moaned softly and stretched, pretending to have just woken up. "Good morning."

He laughed internally at her sad attempt, but he decided to play along for a little while.

She leaned up enough on her elbows, placing a chaste kiss upon his lips. As she started to pull away, he pulled her back in, causing her to collapse against his chest as he crashed his lips into hers, deepening the kiss. She melted into his embrace as he held her tighter, sliding his tongue against hers softly. She brought her arms up to wrap them around his neck as they kissed.

As she wrapped her arms around his neck, Killian took advantage of the position to flip them over, so she was lying against the bed with his body flesh to hers. The thought of their first sword fight crossed his mind. The corners of his lips turned up into a smirk at the thoughts.

_Emma: I had no idea you had such a soft side._

_Killian: I don't. I like a fair fight. Good form, but not good enough. Normally, I prefer to do other more enjoyable activities with a woman on her back. With my life on the line, you've left me no choice. A bit of advice, when I jab you with my sword you will feel it. You might wanna quit._

_Emma: Why would I do that when I'm winning?_

Breaking the kiss for only a few intentional moments, Killian looked down at the beautiful woman lying beneath him. He smiled as he thought about the ring was safely hidden away in one of his chests in the closet.

"What are you smiling at?" Emma asked, studying his face and all of the small details of his face. Her favorite feature was probably his beard. It was just full enough to give him a distinguished look, but it wasn't overly fluffy that it got in the way of other things.

"You," he replied, pressing his lips to hers and ran his hand along her arm. She wrapped her arms around his neck as her tongue glided along his bottom lip, requesting access to come inside to play. A request he was more than willing to oblige.

He trailed his hand along the hem of her shirt, using his hook, he began to slide it up over her stomach until it came to rest just above the swell of her breasts. Once the shirt was out of his way, he cupped her right breast and slid the cold metal of his hook over the left, careful to avoid her hardening bud. Emma moaned, arching her back in an attempt to brush her chest against his. He could tell she was desperate to feel his body against hers.

Slowly, she slid her hands from his neck down the length of his torso only stopping at his waistband, slipping her hand inside. Gently, she brushed her fingers along his hardening length which was just begging to be released from it's confines.

Her teasing strokes led Killian to break the kiss long enough to pull her shirt over her head. Once the intruding fabric was out of the way, he started trailing kisses along her jawline and down her neck. A majority of the kisses remained in the crook of her neck where he was fluttering kisses and nibbling on the overly sensitive skin, eliciting the exact reaction from her he was looking for.

"Killian," she moaned, tilting her head back, giving him even more access to her neck. She could feel him smile against her skin as he continued his trail down her body. The scruff of his beard added extra jolts of electricity flowing through her body.

Reaching her breasts, he placed kisses all over her breasts only to avoid the place she wanted him to kiss most. As soon as she wasn't expecting it, he flicked his tongue over the bud before slipping it between his lips, tugging on it gently eliciting a melody of moans from his beloved's lips.

"Killian," she moaned again, loudly, and arched her back. He smirked as he looked up at her, allowing his blue eyes to meet her green ones.

"Yes, love?" he hummed.

"Fuck me," she moaned softly.

"Anything you desire, love," he told her before coming up to capture her lips in his and removing the last of her clothing as she reached to remove his as well.

. . . . . . . .

As morning dawned on the Charming household, Snow and Charming were sitting down to a fresh homemade breakfast.

"How long do you think Hook will make us wait?" Charming asked, taking a bite of his pancakes.

"As long as he wants," Snow laughed. "It's his proposal."

Charming sighed. "I'm just anxious, I guess."

"I can tell," Snow smiled. "These are delicious by the way."

"Thank you. We should have had everyone sleepover last night and had a big family breakfast this morning," Charming suggested.

"As much fun as that would have been, I don't think Emma, Killian, and Regina would have liked sleeping on the floor," Snow replied with a laugh.

"I just think it would be nice to have the family all together for breakfast," Charming insisted.

"You just don't want to think about what Emma and Killian may have gone home to do last night," Snow snickered as Charming shrugged and rolled his eyes at her. "Or what they decided to do this morning."

"Why do you have to put these thoughts in my head?" he complained, scrubbing his hands over his face. Snow laughed and almost spit out her coffee.

"Because it bothers you so much," she mocked, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Did Emma seem a little off to you last night?" Charming asked, finishing the last few bites of his breakfast. Snow looked at him puzzled, setting her fork down on the table.

"Not to me, why? Is something wrong?" she asked concerned.

"I don't know. It was just something Regina said to her yesterday while we were on our way back from seeing Jekyll didn't sit right with me, even though Emma said everything was fine," Charming answered.

"If she says it was fine, then it's best to just believe her. She'll tell us if something is wrong," Snow assured him. Unfortunately, she knew her daughter was good at keeping secrets. She just hoped that this wouldn't be a secret that became a burden Emma had to bear on her own.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he replied, leaning over and kissing her softly on the cheek. "We both need to head out the door soon. You've got school today."

"Indeed, I do," Snow smiled. She was very excited to be heading back to a classroom after a very long time away.

. . . . . . . .

"Henry! Let's go! You've got school," Regina called from the bottom of the stairs, waiting impatiently for her son to be ready to leave. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night. In fact, when she came in from her chat with the Evil Queen she drank an entire pot of coffee trying to figure out a way to defeat her that didn't involve killing herself.

Robin had been trying to communicate with her, but she didn't read what he had to say. She knew that he would tell her not to worry and they would figure things out together, but she couldn't figure out how the hell he would help her if he still a ghost. She felt guilty for not listening to what he had to say, but everything was just too complicated.

Hearing footsteps coming down the hall above her, Regina let out a sigh of relief. It really wouldn't look good if the son of the Mayor, who is also the son of the Sheriff was late to school on a Monday morning.

"Finally," she laughed, placing a hand on his shoulder as he met her at the bottom of the stairs. "What took so long?"

Henry shrugged. "Just wanted to look my best for Grandma's first day back."

Regina chuckled softly, shaking her head. "No, you wanted to look your best for Violet. Just admit it."

Henry blushed, looking down at his shoes. "Maybe."

"Alright, off you go or we'll both be late," she said, pushing him towards the door.

It was going to be a long day of research at the office while she waited for Emma to have her little chat with Jekyll. Without the name of the young lady the necklace was meant to be gifted to, they could not do anything with it for the time being. Other than research, her only other options for things to do today were to go and check in on her sister or try to have a reasonable conversation with Mr. Gold. The latter she knew to be highly unlikely to happen. She also had no desire to go and see her sister, but it had to be done at some unfortunate point. However, it could wait another day or so.

. . . . . . . .

A few miles away at the farmhouse, a cloud of red smoke appeared on the front porch followed by a loud knocking at the door which not only woke up Zelena, but Robin and the Evil Queen as well.

"Who the hell is that?" the Evil Queen hissed, storming out of her room.

"Probably someone for you," Zelena snapped back. "Go answer the door. I have to get Robin."

The Evil Queen rolled her eyes. She hated having to do the work of peasant, but she did it anyways because she didn't exactly have much of a choice. She was pleasantly surprised by the person she found standing on the other side of the door.

"Hello, Dark One," she hummed. "What brings you here, especially so early?"

She waltzed away from the door towards the table, taking a seat. With the flick of her wrist, three tea cups appeared followed shortly by a teapot and sugar bowl. She poured herself a drink and offered a seat beside her to the Dark One.

"I think you know why I'm here," he replied snidely, sitting down at the table with her and poured some tea.

The Evil Queen smiled wickedly.  _Music to her ears._  First Zelena and now the Dark One. The Savior stands no chance.

"Delightful," she said raising her glass to him as they toasted to the new team.

. . . . . . .

Scanning the bedroom for the last place she had seen them, Emma finally was able to locate her panties that somehow managed to land halfway across the room from the bed due to her and Killian's little escapade this morning. By the time the couple had gotten out of the shower and glanced at a clock this morning, she realized that they were going to be late for work.

Killian watched her rush about the room with a smile on his face. He was sated by their tryst this morning, since it had been awhile since their last morning where they could afford to sleep in. Normally, they were always rushing about trying to get out the door and into the office.

"Love, relax. You're the Sheriff. The day doesn't start until you get to the office," Killian called from the closet doorway as he leaned up against the frame, arms crossed as he watched her still.

"Do you want to explain to my dad why I wasn't in at my normal time this morning?" she questioned, raising her brow in his direction as she shimmied into her jeans.

"He has to have some idea by now. You are a grown woman, after all," Killian replied with a laugh.

"Knowing and wanting to think about it are two different things," she replied coyly. "My mother doesn't mind thinking about it for the very reason you said. Dad, on the other hand, does not want to think about it. It weirds him out for some reason."

Killian laughed to himself. He could understand Dave's reasoning for not wanting to think about it. Emma was his daughter and he did not want to think about a pirate who had been around the block a time or two ravishing her. As he thought about his own future children, he wasn't liking the idea of his potential daughters hanging out with boys who were anything like he was at that age. Quickly, he shoved those thoughts out his mind as Emma approached where he was standing.

"I need in here," she said, stopping directly in front of him.

"Pay the toll," he quipped. She rolled her eyes before placing a soft kiss on his lips. Killian tried to deepen it, but she pulled away too quickly.

"I've paid, now let me through," she laughed.

Killian sighed, but stepped aside allowing her access. He would have loved to stay in bed for just a few hours longer this morning, but then he wouldn't have minded dragging the shower out a little longer as well.

She grabbed her shoes from the closet and headed for the door of their bedroom. She turned around slowly and smiled at him before heading downstairs.

"Coming into the office with me today?" she asked.

Killian nodded.

"Then let's go," she said waving her arm and pulled her shoes on quickly before heading out the door. "We're stopping at Granny's for coffee this morning."

She sent a quick text off to Charming to let him know that they were at least on their way and not still asleep this morning.

**Emma** : Woke up late. Grabbing coffee at Granny's and will be in soon.

Charming laughed as he read the message. As much as he hoped that she really was just running late, he knew better. He had decided that since Emma was running a wee bit late that he didn't have to rush out the door any time soon.

"Don't you have to get to the office?" Snow asked, walking from their bedroom into the kitchen.

He nodded. "But Emma and Hook are running late, so I figured it wouldn't hurt if I was a little late as well."

"I see. Well, I've got to run. Can't have the teacher being late for her first day back," she said, placing a quick kiss on his cheek, "I'll see you later!"

"Have a good day. Love you," he called, watching her walk hastily out the front door.

"Love you too!" she replied.

Looking at the clock one more time, Charming decided that it was time for him to get his lazy ass into the office, especially if Emma and Hook were on their way to Granny's for coffee when Emma had texted him. After quickly cleaning up the kitchen, he was on his way out the door with Neal to drop him off with the Blue Fairy.

. . . . . . .

Coffee and pastries in hand, Emma and Killian walked into the Sheriff's office to find it empty.

"And I was worried about him freaking out because we were late," Emma sighed, setting the bag from Granny's down on her desk and pulling out her chair before collapsing into it with a huff.

Killian laughed. "Just means we don't have to explain ourselves."

"Very true," Emma nodded. "So what are you two going to do while I go talk to Jekyll today?"

"Whatever Dave suggests probably," Killian replied with a shrug

"What about me?" Charming said, walking in the door, "Sorry, I'm late. I had to take Neal to Blue."

"That's alright, mate," Killian said. "We actually just got in a few minutes ago ourselves."

Emma nodded in agreement. "Mom excited to be headed back to school today?"

"I think so. She didn't really say too much about it before she left this morning," Charming replied with a shrug. "So what's the plan for today?"

"I'm going to try and get Jekyll to talk to me," Emma answered. "I'm not sure what you two want to do."

Killian and Charming both looked at each other. They would figure something out, they always did. Then the idea struck Killian.

"We could go check in on Belle," Killian suggested.

"Belle? As in Gold's wife, who was asleep in a box the last time I checked," Charming asked puzzled.

Killian nodded. "Aye, but now she's awake and living on my ship."

"When did all this happen?" Charming asked, looking between Emma and Killian hoping for some kind of an explanation.

"About two days ago," Emma said, scratching her head.

"And you didn't think about mentioning this yesterday?" Charming almost shouted. He hadn't meant to, but it just seemed to happen that way.

"Uhm, I didn't cross my mind?" Emma said with a shrug. "We were so focused on finding Hyde or Jekyll that I never thought about it."

Charming sighed. He couldn't blame them for not telling him. It had been a crazy day yesterday. Even he had forgotten to mention to Snow about what they found with the necklace. Although, Belle being awake is kind of a big deal and something that the Deputy Sheriff should be made aware of.

"So how long has she been awake?" Charming asked slowly as his brain wrapped around the information he had just been told.

"Two days," Emma answered.

Charming nodded his head. The shock evident on his face, but he attempted to push it aside for the time being.

"She's on the run from the crocodile," Killian chimed in. "Apparently, their unborn child is the one who woke her up."

"So Regina and I took her to Killian's ship the other night and put up a few protection spells so that she can live there," Emma told him.

"Speaking of protection spells, do we need to do anything special to get past them?" Killian asked, turning to Emma.

She shook her head. "The only person who can't get through the spell is Gold. In fact, he won't be able to see where you are headed if he were to follow you down to the docks."

Killian nodded. "Well, Dave, ready to go see the lass?"

Charming nodded and gave Emma a quick hug before grabbing a cup of coffee and a pastry on his way to the door. Killian walked over to Emma and gave her a quick kiss goodbye before the two were off.

As Killian and Charming were walking towards the docks, Charming was still trying to wrap his head around the information he been given about Belle. There were two words that Emma had said that seemed to repeat themselves over and over in his head.

"You ran into her before you came to the apartment to ask for Emma's hand, didn't you?" Charming asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Aye, she was frightened, too. Has anyone seen the crocodile since she returned?" Killian asked.

The longer he thought about it, the more concerned he became. Gold in his normal mood was rather terrible. No one needed to see what he was like when something he wanted was taken away from him and he was in a foul mood. A mood that Killian had been unfortunate enough to experience first hand.

Charming and Killian pondered what had been said momentarily before speaking at the same time. "Maybe we should go check on Gold."

The pair laughed at their like mindedness before heading towards the Pawn Shop. The one place that they figured would be easiest to find the infamous Mr. Gold. A man who could easily hide if he didn't want to be found.

"Gold," Killian called, entering the shop followed close behind by Charming.

"Rumplestiltskin," Charming said walking along the display case trying to see if maybe he was hidden behind one of them.

Finding nothing, they looked at each other and then decided to head for the back room. The worst that could happen was that Gold would get pissed at them for being back there. Somewhere in the back of their minds they hoped that Gold loved Belle enough not to hurt the people who had been so willing to help her when she needed it most.

. . . . . . . .

Emma stared at her computer screen, scrolling through the results of a simple internet search about bringing people back from an obliterated state. Everything that she had seen on the first five pages said that it was completely impossible and she was crazy for even thinking that it could be done, but she kept looking. She had to keep her promise of bringing everyone their happy endings, and that included Regina. She owed Regina that much, especially if her visions were any indication of her fate. She shook off the feeling and continued into the deep mysterious space that was the internet.

Meanwhile, locked away in her office, Regina kept scrolling through the pages of the website she had found the night before about the magical powers that Saviors can hold. Emma was the product of true love, so that would mean her visions could be caused by that magic as well. It was a complicated topic to try and break down for searches, but this site was proving so far to be informative. Hopefully she would have something to tell Emma about soon.

. . . . . . . .

Everything in her classroom was set up and ready to go, all she needed now were the students to come in and take their seats. Nothing in the world could ruin this day for her. It was the first time in years that she had been so excited to be back in a school.

Everything was perfect until the principal came walking into the room. She wasn't expecting him to make an appearance after she stopped in his office this morning on her way in.

"Mr. Spencer, to what do I owe this visit to?" she asked nervously, walking over to greet him at the door to her classroom.

"I forgot to tell you about the new group of students who have been added to the school. With the new influx of inhabitants of town, there came a new influx of students attending our school," he replied.

Snow let out a small sigh of relief. She was happy to hear that nothing was actually wrong. After many months of fighting the dark side, it was going to be a nice change of pace for a change.

"Oh, okay. Thank you. I probably would have been a little confused when the class started coming in and I saw kids that I didn't know," she answered cheerfully.

"No problem, Mrs. Nolan. Have a good day," he said, turning on his heels to walk out of her classroom.

Shortly after he left, she heard footsteps coming into her classroom. She turned around from her desk and a smile grew on her face when she saw her grandson entering the room.

"Henry! What are you doing here?" she asked delighted to see him as she walked over to give him a hug.

"I wanted to come and wish you luck on your first day back to school," he replied.

"Thank you. I appreciate it. Ready for your day?" Snow asked excitedly.

Henry nodded. "I'm actually headed from here to go find Violet before the bell rings."

"Alright. Tell her I said hello. If you're interested, you can swing by the apartment for dinner tonight," she said before he walked away.

"Will do. Thanks Grandma," he called as he headed back out the door.

"Let the games begin," she whispered to herself just second before the bell rang to start her day.

. . . . . . . .

Emma had arrived at the blimp and as she approached she could hear Jekyll talking to someone, but she couldn't figure out who it was. It sounded as though they were arguing about something important. She wasn't sure if she should let him know that she was outside and could hear them, or just to listen on from the outside.

"I sent them away. Why won't you leave me alone?" Jekyll hissed.

"That doesn't mean they won't come back," the mystery voice replied. "Besides it's not like you were very convincing."

"I'll deal with them if they come back. The only one we need to worry about is the Evil Queen."

"That isn't the Evil Queen. That's a wanna-be."

"Emma isn't so bad. She was really quite nice."

"She's weak. She's no help to us. Her powers are starting to cause her problems."

Emma's jaw dropped. She needed to know who the mystery voice belonged to and what he knew about her magic. Maybe he could explain to her what was causing the visions. It seemed as though he already knew that she was suffering from them. It was time for her to make herself known whether the mysterious voice wanted to speak to her or not.

"Jekyll," she called, nearing the door.

"What is she doing here?" the mystery voice hissed angrily.

"I don't know," Jekyll whispered before he walked outside of the blimp. "Emma, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you would talk to just me," she replied, trying to look over Jekyll's shoulder. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, that's no one you need to worry about. What did you want to talk to me about?" Jekyll insisted.

"The necklace that we brought back here yesterday and who it was supposed to be given to, and where she happens to be right now. Are you sure I shouldn't meet your friend?" Emma replied, quirking her brow.

Hyde was listening intently to the conversation going on outside. Now was not the time to reveal himself because he knew what would happen. He would be taken in where he would be locked up for a very long time for threatening the livelihood of this small town. He didn't even want the town, but he knew it was the only way he could get the information he wanted from the Dark One.

Jekyll looked back over his shoulders nervously. "Let's go somewhere else and talk. He wants to be left alone right now."

"Lead the way," Emma replied and the pair was off.

Hyde couldn't decide whether or not he should follow them or not. Part of him wanted to tag along so that he could hear what they were talking about, but the other part knew that Jekyll wouldn't actually talk to her if he were hovering in the background, listening to every word he said. So he decided that he would stay here and contemplate his next move would be.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" a feminine voice hummed from the shadows.

"Who is there?" Hyde boomed, looking from side to side in the room trying to find out the source of the voice.

"An old friend, my dear," she remarked, walking out into the light where he could see her.

"Hello, your majesty. To what do I do the pleasure?" he asked, rolling his eyes at the dramatic flair she always seemed to put on her entrances to a room.

"Can't an old friend just come to visit one of her dearest friends?" she said sweetly.

"You don't pay visits without a reason," Hyde insisted

The Evil Queen cackled. He wasn't wrong in that matter. She and Rumplestiltskin had that in common. Everything they did had a reasoning behind it. They also never did anything for free. There was always some kind of a fee paid by both parties. They just usually seemed to luck out in the end and never had to pay up on their end of the deal.

"Smart man," she replied. "I came to see if you wanted to join my team to go up against the enemy."

"Why would I join forces with you? What could you possibly offer me?" he scoffed.

He didn't believe a word that she was about to say. There was no reason to trust the motives of the Evil Queen. He had been burned many times by the woman in the past and he wasn't about to be burnt by her again. He would hear her out, but there would be no teaming up with the wicked woman.

"Because you might be interested in the other people who have chosen to team up with me," she hissed, waving her hand. Appearing inside the blimp was the rest of her wicked team, Zelena and the infamous Dark One.

"Why do I care about them?" Hyde hissed as he looked over the motley crew that had magically appeared in his lovely abode.

"I prefer to use my own magic to travel," Gold growled at the Evil Queen, who just looked at him and laughed before turning her attention back to Hyde.

"Because together we can all get what we want most," she hummed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Zelena was idly standing by as she vaguely heard what they three of them were discussing. Her mind was still focused on the brief conversation she and the Evil Queen had had the evening before. She was also quite sure that Regina would have a few select words to say to her about the entire situation if she didn't say something to her about it all soon.

She was quickly drawn out of her thoughts when the Evil Queen formed a fireball in her hand that she was threatening to throw at Mr. Gold. Rolling her eyes, she stepped in between the pair of them.

"That's enough," she said shaking her head. "Fighting with each other won't solve anything. And if I'm being honest, throwing a fireball at the Dark One will just make your life hell. So can we please figure out what our plan is going to be somewhere other than a place where the Savior is lurking around just nearby?"

The Evil Queen huffed. "Fine."

Turning to glare at Mr. Gold she spoke again, "Do you want me to do it or would you rather travel on your own?"

"Just get on with it," he huffed.

With the flick of her wrist the four of them were gone in a cloud of purple smoke.


	17. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey loves! I’m back with an update for this story, finally! I know it seems like forever since I posted the teaser. When you give your students a test and then have to grade a bunch of failing papers, you lose the desire to do much of anything. 
> 
> With this chapter, we get to see a little of what the Evil Queen is up to with the band of villains she gathered at the end of last chapter. We also get to see how the whole group finds out about the Evil Queen being back in town. 
> 
> Song Recommendations: Look What You Made Me Do - Taylor Swift; Make it Out Alive - Jennifer Hall; The Mess I Made - Parachute;
> 
> If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author’s page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I’m also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well. 
> 
> If you enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to leave a review! Can’t wait to hear what you think! 
> 
> Love always,   
> ~starr

Landing roughly on the ground, the powerhouse of villains dusted off their clothes quickly before heading inside to discuss the next step of the plan. Gold was the first person inside, followed quickly by Hyde and the Evil Queen. Zelena was the last person to enter her own home.

"You could have at least waited for me to unlock the door," Zelena huffed, closing the door behind her quietly. "You could have woken Robyn up from her nap  _or_ the sitter could have attacked you for breaking and entering, which would result in Emma and her posse being called and interrupting our little meeting."

"Had she tried attacking me, I would have killed her," Gold replied coldly.

Zelena rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak again, but was silenced when the Evil Queen put her arm in front of the infuriating green witch.

"Would you just shut up?" the Evil Queen snarled. "I know you don't have a sitter and I also know Robyn isn't here, so what Gold did wouldn't have woken her. She's with Neal and the Blue Fairy."

Zelena huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "It still doesn't make it okay to go barging into someone else's house. How would you like it if I did that to you?"

"I'd probably kill you too," Gold told her. "I do not appreciate having my personal space invaded. However, I don't care about yours, so I will do as I damn well please."

Zelen rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Dark One."

"Now that the pointless bickering has stopped, may I ask where the hell we are?" Hyde interrupted, curiously as he walked around the kitchen table in the middle of the room.

"As I'm assuming you've guessed, this is my house," Zelena began, waving her hands around to present the room. "I live on the outskirts of Storybrooke on this farm. For the most part, the Sheriff and her cohorts leave me alone. That is unless they need something from me, which doesn't happen often."

"Besides, they don't know for certain where you have hidden yourself Mr. Hyde," the Evil Queen added, pulling a chair out from the table to sit down.

"Would someone please tell me why the bloody hell we are here?" Gold hissed, smacking his hand against the table. "I have better things to do rather than waiting around here listening to you all discuss how to hide  _him_."

The Evil Queen turned her attention to Gold, narrowing her gaze. As frustrating as the man could be, he was starting to get on her last possible nerve. "Like what?" she snapped, "Finding your wife who wants nothing to do with you? Attempting to make your unborn son like you again?  _Or_ are you looking for a new way to prove your power since no one what you do anymore?" The smirk on her face was enough to push Gold over the edge.

"Listen here, dearie," Gold snarled, teeth bared reaching his arm out, using his magic to lift the Evil Queen out of her chair by the throat. "Whatever you think you may know about my life is only a thought and I personally think it would be best for those thoughts to stay inside your head, so that they aren't heard by the wrong people. You never know what deals you may accidentally walk into with your commentary on the way other people live their lives. You, better than anyone, should know that I'm the last person you want to make a deal with."

Before setting her back down, he tightened his grip for a few moments. Watching her struggle for her breath brought glee to his face. He wanted to make sure that his point had been stressed accordingly and that for once she would keep her vast knowledge of the lives of the others in this town to herself. Unfortunately from prior experience, he knew that expecting that from her would be a stretch. After all, he taught her how to harness that power.

He dropped his grip on her quickly, causing her to fall back into the chair roughly. The Evil Queen rubbed her neck with her hand where he had held her. She furrowed her brow at him as she shook her head. "Wee bit testy today, aren't we Gold?" she hissed as a wicked smile graced her face. Gold narrowed his gaze in her general direction and slowly lifted his hand yet again, but The Evil Queen put up her hands, signalling surrender.

"I'll stop. Besides we have more important things to discuss," she said, ushering Zelena to join the rest of them so that this little meeting could begin. The sooner she could get Gold out of her hair, the happier she would be. There may have been a time in her life that she had romantic thoughts about her mentor, but those thoughts have been buried for a long time. The more she looked at him now, the less she saw of the man that had taught her everything she knew.

"Yes, like what the  _hell_ we are all doing here," Gold mumbled under his breath. The Evil Queen snapped her head and glared at him. When he met her gaze, he chuckled, folding his arms across his chest and leaned back in the chair.

Hyde leaned forward, placing his crossed arms on the table and nodded. "I too would like to know what exactly we are doing here and why I should consider joining alliances with that of the Evil Queen."

Zelen laughed quietly to herself as she listened to the argument brewing in front of her. She couldn't help thinking about how nice it was not being the source of tension in the room. Usually when she would walk into a room, particularly one full of her fellow Storybrooke inhabitants, an argument would most likely ensue for no reason other than she was there.

The Evil Queen caught Zelena laughing out of the corner of her eye and growled under her breath before snapping her head in the direction of her roommate. "What are you laughing at? Do you feel left out? Should we start insulting your life too? You're just lucky my  _better_ half hasn't taken your daughter away from you. My guess is she has been a bit distracted lately."

"Distracted by what?" Zelena asked, furrowing her brow. She might have noticed something off with Regina had she spent more time talking to her  _darling_ sister. However since Robin's death, Regina had been less than inclined to talk to her. Not that Zelena could really blame her for the lack of communication.

"Nothing you need to be distracted by right this second. Can we focus on the matter at hand?" the Evil Queen huffed, slamming her hand down on the table causing the knickknacks in the middle to shake.

"It would help if we knew what the matter at hand was, dearie," Gold replied, rolling his eyes.

With one last deep breath to restrain her anger, the Evil Queen finally began to divulge her intentions for the inhabitants of Storybrooke, including Gold's beloved wife and unborn child as well as the people that Zelena had been slowly starting to consider family.

. . . . . . . .

Meanwhile Emma was wandering aimlessly through the woods with Dr. Jekyll. He seemed to be leading her nowhere, but at the same time he seemed to know exactly where he was headed. There was something off about the man she was following, but at least if she kept an eye on him for the time being then she would know a few places he liked to go if they needed to talk to him again. From what she could tell, Dr. Jekyll was a kind man who just wanted to help them find and destroy Mr. Hyde so that he could not hurt anyone else.

"Jekyll, am I allowed to ask where we are going?" Emma finally asked after spending the last five or six minutes of their trek trying to get her bearings on their surroundings. Unfortunately, she was not as familiar with this section of the woods as she probably should have been being the town sheriff after all. It was just something she could add to her to do list once they had this crazy man caught.

Jekyll mumbled something inaudible under his breath before responding. "We're headed just up ahead here a ways. Don't fret. We'll be there soon."

He continued mumbling something under his breath that Emma couldn't understand. Emma grumbled under her breath, but continued walking and even managed to catch up to where Jekyll was so that she could see more of what was ahead of them.

After walking for a little while longer, Emma was able to her the rushing waters of the river that ran through the woods around town. As she looked around a little more, Emma recognized the Troll Bridge off in the distance to her right. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she finally realized that she did know where she was. This was where they had found Charming after he woke up from his coma when she had become the Sheriff of Storybrooke.

Jekyll stopped quickly in front of her and turned to face her. A nervous smile appeared on his face. "Now we can talk. No unwanted listeners can listen in on what I have to say."

Emma furrowed her brow. "What do you mean no one unwanted? I thought we were alone at your blimp…"

"That's why we had to come here. I'm never alone. He's always lurking in the shadows behind me," Jekyll said nervously.

"Who is always lurking?" Emma had her guess, but there was always the possibility of someone else lurking around Storybrooke causing trouble. It would be far too convenient for the Sheriff's office to be aware of all the possible lurkers spending time in Storybrooke before they started causing trouble.

Jekyll looked around nervously before he answered her question. It was as though he was convinced that they were not alone and someone had followed them from the blimp. As far as Emma was aware it was just the two of them, but maybe Jekyll was able to see someone that she couldn't. One could never be too careful in Storybrooke.

Jekyll stepped closer to Emma. "Mr. Hyde. He's been living in the blimp with me ever since he made his appearance in town. Someone else came to visit him. Someone feminine and she wasn't alone. I heard voices coming from the back room when we left."

"We killed the Evil Queen in New York…" Emma mumbled, but her voice soon trailed off as she started thinking about the events that transpired in New York. She remembered watching Regina crush the Evil Queen's heart and seeing it crumble to dust landing on the roof. After that they all just left. They didn't think to do anything with the dust because they thought that had been the end. "I have to warn everyone."

"Warn them about what?" Jekyll asked puzzled. He had watched a storm of emotions flood over Emma's face in a few short moments. Something bigger must be at stake.

"The Evil Queen is not exactly welcomed here and if she's back then all hell is about to break loose," Emma replied. She paused for a few moments before looking at Jekyll. "You should probably come with me. I don't know that it is safe for you to go back to your blimp right now. Especially if Hyde isn't there alone and if my guess is correct about his guest then you really aren't safe by yourself."

Jekyll and Emma began walking away from the Troll Bridge and back into town at a brisk pace. Jekyll asked Emma all sorts of questions as they made the trek. Emma answered them to the best of her ability, but some of his questions she just didn't have the answers for. She was sure that there would be more questions when they got back to the station and everyone was able to gather. She quickly sent a text message to Regina, Charming, and Killian asking them to meet her. They were going to need a plan of action.

. . . . . . . .

"So explain this to me once more," Charming said as he and Killian continued on towards the docks. "Did she explain what happened to her or why she went under the curse in the first place?"

Internally Killian rolled his eyes as he sighed. It seemed as though Charming thought he had all the answers, when in reality he had the same questions. "I don't know much about what happened because I didn't spend a lot of time with Belle. I talked to her long enough to tell her to seek out Emma and then I walked up to your door. Emma filled me in on a few pieces when I got home, but other than that I'm just as out of the loop as you are, mate."

Charming ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He wasn't sure why he was hoping to get more details out of Killian. The pirate's mind was a bit more preoccupied with other more important things than being concerned with what was going on with Belle.

After walking a little bit further, the two arrived at the docks and were standing in front of Killian's ship. Charming turned to Killian with a puzzled look on his face. "How is this the most safe place for Bell to hide? Can't Gold just show up here and take her away?"

"According to Emma, the protection spells that she and Regina put on my ship make it appear as though the ship isn't here, Emma," Killian said, shrugging his shoulders.

"But we can see it?" Charming asked confused.

Killian sighed and shrugged his shoulders again. "Apparently the spell only lets certain people know that it is here. So us, Emma, Regina, Snow, and Henry, I believe can see it. Gold cannot see that it's here. Also he won't be able to see people walking on the docks near the ship. I don't understand how it all works, but if it helps to protect Belle, then I'm cool with it."

"I won't claim to understand it either," Charming laughed.

"Shall we?" Killian asked, motioning towards the ships. Charming nodded and the two boarded.

"Belle, we've come to check in on you," Killian said, knocking on the door to the Captain's quarters and smiled when Belle opened the door with a smile of her own.

"Hello, Killian," she replied, turning to Charming. "Charming, it's so good to see you too. Won't you both come in?"

She ushered the two inside quickly and offered them a seat at the small table just a few steps from the door. Once seated, Belle set to work making a pot of tea and gathering some biscuits from the cupboards.

"You've made quick work of the place, Belle. It looks wonderful," Killian said, thanking her for the tea. His eyes wandered around his old room with a sense of nostalgia and realization that the place certainly did look better with a little bit of color.

"I have Emma and Regina to thank for that," Belle replied after placing a cup of tea in front of Charming and pouring one for herself before taking a seat at the table with the two men. "Actually I have all of you to thank for everything. I know it wasn't exactly fair of me to just show up and hope that you all would help me, but I'm eternally grateful for it all."

"If there is anything I have learned from being a part of Charming's family, it's that they help people without thinking twice. When you asked for my help, I knew I needed to do something," Killian replied.

Charming nodded. "All that matters now is that you and the baby are safe. How far along are you?"

"About two months, I think. I called the hospital to make an appointment this morning to find out all of the details," Belle replied, placing a gentle hand on her stomach. "It's a bit nerve-wracking if I'm being completely honest."

"You should come by later and talk to Snow. I'm sure she'd love to talk to someone else about the joys of pregnancy. She might even offer to go with you to the hospital," Charming suggested with a shrug.

Belle smiled and nodded her head. "I wouldn't mind getting some sound advice from someone who has done this before," she replied quietly.

"Then it's settled, you'll come for dinner tonight," Charming told her. The pair continued chatting back and forth about the joys of parenthood.

Killian had been partially listening as his thoughts began to drift towards his future with Emma and the possibility of their own beautiful blond haired children with sparkling blue eyes. He could hear the pitter patter of small feet taking their first steps across the living room floor. When he closed his eyes he could picture himself coming downstairs in the morning and walking into the kitchen to find Emma pretending to fly an airplane towards an eager mouth waiting for food, giggling at the sounds she was making.

The buzzing of his phone drew him back out of his thoughts, slipping his hand into his pocket to remove the device. Emma's name flashed across his screen. He looked at the phone curiously and slid the message open.

 **Emma:**  New development in Hyde case. Meet at station.

"Interesting," Killian mumbled, staring at his phone.

"What's interesting?" Charming asked, turning his attention from Belle over towards Killian.

"New development in the hunt for Hyde. Emma wants us to meet her at the station," Killian replied. "Belle, you are more than welcome to come with us."

Belle looked around the room momentarily. "I wouldn't mind getting out of here for a little while," she said with a smile.

"Well then, let's go!" Charming said happily as he rose from his chair and slid it back in towards the table. Belle and Killian followed suit soon after and the three were off.

. . . . . . .

Regina had been staring at her computer screen for the last two hours. The longer she searched, the more repetitive the information she found became. Everything she was finding she already knew from spending time with Emma and watching her use her magic. There was a small part of her that wondered whether or not she had pushed Emma too hard when she started teaching her how to control her magic. It is possible that the pushing was forcing some of Emma's abilities to remain hidden.

_Regina: Let's start with roots for incantations._

_Emma: Are you kidding me right now? What language is this? Spanish?_

_Regina: We're not making tapas. We're making magic. It's elvish. Well, half elvish._

_Emma: I'm never gonna get this. Is this how Rumple taught you? Just think about your training. What other methods did he use?_

_Regina: Rumple was a bully. He didn't suffer fools and he certainly didn't coddle his students. And if he tried to teach you how to swim and you couldn't, you drowned._

_Emma: Drowned?_

_Regina: That's it._

_Emma: That's what? What the hell are you doing?  
Regina: Teaching you to swim._

The more Regina thought back on that moment, the prouder she was of Emma for showing her strength and surviving the test. Admittedly, she probably could have gone a little easier on Emma since it was her first time using magic with some sense of control.

The buzzing of her phone pulled her thoughts away from her memories and back to the present moment. She read the message quickly and typed a reply. Regina turned off her computer and gathered the rest of her things. Before too much more time had passed, she was on her way to the station to find out what exactly was going on. It seemed as though the villains in this town never slept.

. . . . . . . .

On their to the station, Killian, Charming, and Belle bumped into Snow and Henry leaving the school. The five of them hurried off to the station. Whatever information Emma had found out was important to all of them placing the fate of Storybrooke in their hands.

Emma and Jekyll were the first people to arrive at the station. While Emma busied herself with paperwork, Jekyll wandered around aimlessly looking at all of the unique technology Emma had brought to Storybrooke that he had never seen before.

He pressed a button on one of the computers causing the screen to light up. The CPU started humming as the disc drive spun. Jekyll jumped away, afraid that it was going to explode. When Emma saw what was happening, she giggled quietly to herself before letting him know that nothing was going to happen to him.

"Dr. Jekyll, why don't you take a seat on the couch? There are a couple books on the shelf you might be interested in while we wait for the others to get here," she said with a smile.

He nodded his head and moved quickly over to the couch. He picked up one of Henry's comic books and began reading. Emma laughed to herself and turned her focus back to the work in front of her on the screen.

Shortly after she had gotten into a rhythm of typing up the case files on her desk, Killian and the others walked inside the station.

"Hello, love," he said, placing a kiss a top her head.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hey you," she replied, squeezing him tight before addressing the others. "Hey, everyone."

They all replied in turn and Charming looked over at Jekyll, sitting on the couch and quirked his brow at the man's choice of reading material. "Why is there a comic book here?"

"That would be one of mine," Henry said with a laugh. Charming nodded in understanding before turning his focus back to Emma.

"So what's the new information?" he asked.

"We are waiting for one more person," Emma replied with a shrug before turning her attention over to Belle, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright. I think I finally have everything the way I want it at home. Thanks again for all your help," Belle said. "You have no idea how much it means to me."

"Any time," Emma replied with a smile before turning to Snow. "Mom, I'm sure we can fill you in on all this later."

Snow nodded with a laugh, "That would be nice. It's so weird being out of the loop for once. Usually it's David who has no idea."

"Hey," Charming whined, turning to Snow as he furrowed his brow and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not my fault no one tells me anything."

Snow placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and rubbed his back for a few minutes. Everyone else laughed at Charming's pouting fit and had no idea that Regina had entered the station.

"What's so funny?" she asked curiously. "Sorry, I'm late. I got sucked into a research vortex at my office."

"It's okay. We haven't talked about it yet, so you're not late at all," Emma replied, rising out of her chair and stepping her around her desk. "So you all know Dr. Jekyll correct?"

They all nodded, so Emma walked over to where he was seated. "Dr. Jekyll, do you mind telling them what you told me earlier at the Troll Bridge?"

Jekyll's head popped up from behind the comic and he closed it quickly, rising from the couch as well. He interlaced his fingers behind his back as he spoke. "Yes, well most of you, except Emma, you and the young lad came to visit me in the Land of Untold Stories," he began, pointing at Emma, Regina, and Henry as he mentioned each of them.

"You also had the unfortunate luck to meet Mr. Hyde, my  _other_ personality. You also know that we became separated and then came here. Well, he has been living in the blimp with me and when you all came to visit the other day I had to send you away because he was in a grumpy mood and was convinced that the Evil Queen was with you.

"That was until today," Jekyll said, pausing momentarily. "When Emma came to see me, he stayed hidden in the back. While I talked to Emma, I heard him start talking to a woman that appeared out of nowhere."

At this point, Emma stepped in. "Now, unless Regina left her office at some point today to come visit Jekyll, which I doubt was the case, there are only two other magically inclined females living in Storybrooke. Zelena and myself, but Jekyll met Zelena when he met the rest of you…"

"Oh no," Regina mumbled.

Everyone turned to look at at her as her expression saddened. She hadn't thought anything more about it when she ran into the Evil Queen the other night walking home from Snow and Charming's because her worser half had gone quiet. Regina worried her lip as she met the gaze of everyone else in the room.

"There's something I probably should have told you all a lot sooner than right now..." Regina began. She took a deep breath and held it for a few moments before exhaling as she spoke. "The Evil Queen is back in Storybrooke."

"When did she? How did she? Where did you? Why didn't you tell us?" Snow exclaimed, tossing her hands up in the air. "Don't you think we should have known that she was running loose? I thought you killed her in New York!"

"I thought I killed her too!" Regina shouted back before sighing again. "Sorry. I didn't mean to shout. I don't know why I didn't tell you that she was back in Storybrooke."

"When did she come back?" Emma asked calmly, stepping between Snow and Regina who were sharing very heated glances. The tension around the room was rising and something needed to be done to diffuse it before someone else said something they were going to regret in a matter of minutes.

Regina turned to look at Emma as she replied, "I'm not sure when she came back. The first time I was made aware of her return was the last night when Henry and I were walking home from dinner."

"You knew?" Killian whispered to Henry, smacking him in the arm with the back of his hand. Henry dropped his head momentarily and nodded before stepping forward placing a hand on Emma's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I should have told you," he said with a frown upon his face. "I just hadn't seen you since it happened and it all happened so fast."

Emma turned to him, placing a comforting arm around his shoulder, "It's okay, kid. We know now."

"So," Killian said, walking around Emma's desk and turning his attention to Regina, "What are we going to do now that we know she's here? Obviously she's been hiding herself, but that doesn't mean she is going to stay hidden forever."

They all nodded in agreement. It was particularly odd that she had only revealed herself to Regina once, and now the second revelation she chose to make was to Mr. Hyde. There was something about this whole situation that didn't quite add up. There were so many unanswered questions hanging in the air around and no one knew which one to ask first.

"We need to talk to Zelena," Regina said after a few minutes of complete silence. Everyone had been lost in their own thoughts about how to handle their current situation until she spoke. "We either need to warn her that the Evil Queen's back or we need to find out what she knows. Because if I were still the Evil Queen, then I'm sure I'd go to the one person who consider to be family for some place to stay."

"Since when has Zelena been willing to talk to us?" Charming asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He had kept his opinions on the situation to himself for the most part. His concern was that of safety for his family. His family and the Evil Queen did not have the best history, so he couldn't help thinking that the Evil Queen may have been planning something that would affect them all.

"All of us?" Regina questioned. "Never. However, she might be willing to talk to me."

"Mom," Henry began, but stopped when Regina placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"I have to do this. It's my fault that we are even thinking about her being around, so I need to do something about it. I'm going to go talk to her now. I'll let you all know what I find out," Regina said, turning on her heels exiting the station without another word.

The remaining group exchanged a concerned look between themselves before finding a place to sit down and determine a plan for how to handle the situation. Henry opted to sit with Dr. Jekyll and the two of them began discussing the comic book the Jekyll had been reading when they all came in.

Snow and Belle were sitting on the bench near Charming's desk talking about the joys of pregnancy and just catching up on life in general. Snow was still in shock that Belle was awake let alone finding out that the young girl was pregnant.

This town was certain to have it's handful with The Evil Queen lurking around in the shadows and Rumplestiltskin soon becoming a father.

"Wait, what do you mean you've met your baby as a full grown person?" Snow asked, furrowing her brow as she listened to Belle's story. Her reaction made Belle laugh momentarily before she continued to explain how her own feelings were reflected in Snow's reaction to the news.

Emma smiled to herself as she watched Snow and Belle talk. Someday she hoped to be able to sit with her mom and talk about the joys of pregnancy. They already talked about some of the joys of being a parent, but there was something different about the joys of pregnancy.

She glanced back to look at Killian.

Someday, she thought to herself.


	18. Talk It Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry there wasn’t an official update for September! Life kind of got in the way and it took me longer than expected to get this chapter edited. I will try to have an update ready before the end of October as well! 
> 
> This chapter will focus a lot on Regina, but that’s because a lot has happened to her recently and everyone needs a chance to deal with it all. Everyone else makes an appearance this chapter though too, so don’t worry CS’ers!
> 
> This is self-betaed so all mistakes are my own. 
> 
> Song Recommendations: Till I Fall Asleep - Jayme Dee; Something Worth Saving - Gavin DeGraw; Lost In My Mind - The Head and the Heart
> 
> If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author’s page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I’m also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.
> 
> If you enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to leave a review! Can’t wait to hear what you think!
> 
> Love always,   
> ~starr

Once she was outside, Regina cursed to herself, flicking her wrist and disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke. This was the last thing she really wanted to do today, but it was necessary for the safety of her town. When her two halves were whole, they were a powerful being. A being that was feared and sent people running as far away from her as possible. At least that much hadn't changed for her when she left the Enchanted Forest and came to Storybrooke.

Up until the discovery of Henry's story book and Emma's arrival, the people of Storybrooke seemed to fear when she was the Mayor. After the curse was broken, they still regarded her as someone with power, but they didn't run away from her. They were able to see her softer side. Right now however, she was questioning her power.

For so long she was reliant on the darkness that lived inside of her to support her powers. The darkness was the source of her power and she was able to harness it to do her will. Now all that was left was the light side and she wasn't sure that it was strong enough to defeat her darker half. Sooner or later, she'd have to find out the truth.

Appearing outside of her sister's home, Regina was hoping just to find Zelena inside as she walked up the front steps and readied herself to knock on the door. Seconds before her knuckles hit the door, she heard a familiar deep voice roaring up over top of any other sound that could be heard inside.

"Why the hell would any of us go along with that plan?" the voice shouted.

Regina thought about it for the briefest of seconds.  _"Gold? What the hell is he doing here?"_  She leaned in closer to see what else she could overhear. It'd be nice to be ahead of the games before barging inside the house and coming face to face with the Dark One and her Evil half.

"Would you calm down?" Zelena hissed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just sit back down and stop having your little hissy fit."

"Are you really buying any of this? She's practically powerless. Look at her. The most she can do is form a fireball which she won't throw. She's afraid her power's running out because her power is at half power," Gold snarled back, slamming his fist into the table.

"Want to be proven wrong, Dark One?" the Evil Queen hissed, forming a fireball in her hand. As she drew her arm back to throw the fireball, he disappeared in a puff of red smoke. "Damn it!"

"Way to go," Zelena scoffed. "You've gone and pissed off the Dark One. What the hell are we going to do now?"

The Evil Queen rolled her eyes. "We'll deal with it later. He won't stay mad forever."

"I do hope you are right," Hyde said calmly as he rose from his chair. "I really should be going however. This conversation was very informing."

Hyde began to walk away from the table before he paused and turned his attention back to the ladies at the table. He placed a cautious finger to his lips before speaking. "Would one of you be so kind as to send me home?"

Zelena nodded quickly and with the wave of her hand they were rid of the man, leaving just the of them sitting at her table. Zelena sighed. She had the odd feeling that she was in for a long afternoon and evening.

 _Gold, Zelena, the Evil Queen, and whoever that strange voice was? It sounded so familiar, but where from?_ Regina thought to herself, stepping off the porch of Zelena's farmhouse and back down the stairs.  _What on earth could they be planning?_ Sitting down on the top step, she began to weigh her options.

She could either barge inside and demand that the Evil Queen share her plans, or she could go home and try to determine the plans herself. Then she could stop them before they get the chance to go on ahead. However, she knew the reality of the situation was that she couldn't stop them all on her own. She had obviously failed in defeating her darkness, so she was going to need even help going up against three people who were fluent in dark magic. Maybe it was time for her to go back to the station and sit down with everyone else to determine a plan of action.

Rising from the step, she dusted herself off and walked a few steps away from the old house before disappearing in her own cloud of smoke. Her distracted thoughts landed her in front of her own home rather than the station. Puzzled, she scratched the side of her head momentarily before walking inside.

. . . . . . . .

Back at the farmhouse, Zelena had popped upstairs to wake her sleeping baby from the other room. She was very happy to have even the slightest of moments to herself. The Evil Queen had been breathing down her neck, making her more and more nervous just to be around her for extended periods of time. There was still a piece of the plan that the Evil Queen wasn't set on telling anyone until the last possible moment and it was making it very difficult to believe anything that came out of her mouth.

Most of Zelena's life was focused solely on becoming a part of the family that she never had growing up, but she also remembered how screwed up her family tree really was. Half of her half sister was currently living in her house plotting the death of the other half whom she hadn't really talked to since her own daughter's father died. Her daughter's father was the love of her half sister's life which made things even more awkward. The memory of the first time she meet Regina in the Enchanted Forest still played vividly in her mind and it reminded her of just how truly wicked they were to one another. Now they had grown into some kind of a disjointed family.

_Zelena: I'm your sister. Actually half sister, but details..details…_

_Regina: That's not possible...You're green._

_Zelena: And you're rude._

She shook the off putting thoughts aside and focused on her beautiful daughter in her arms. Zelena knew that every day she had with Baby Robin was a blessing in disguise. There was no reason that Regina couldn't have taken the baby away from her. Everything in Zelena's past showed that she was not meant to be a mother, but Regina believed in her.

As her thoughts shifted back to Regina, Zelena began to question her motives in the whole situation they were currently in. There was a deep pulling sensation in her heart that she should tell Regina the truth about the Evil Queen, but at the same time there was a pull in the opposite direction telling her that her loyalty needed to stay with the Evil Queen. With the Evil Queen, she had already been given guaranteed safety from whatever plans that were about to come into play. However if she sided with Regina, then she would be safe no matter what happens because no matter what good always wins.

Unfortunately Zelena had learned that lesson the hard way and to an extent was still learning it. She had spent more time locked up in the psych ward at the hospital than she was happy to admit to. She wasn't insane; she just had an overwhelming desire to be loved by someone other than herself and to be accepted by others. She just happened to have an odd way of doing so, like impersonating Regina's boyfriend's supposedly dead wife that Emma and the pirate brought back from the past.

She really couldn't help the things that she chose to do, but now that she had Baby Robin, she was going to change her ways and become a mother that her daughter would look up to. Once the plan that the Evil Queen had laid out to them was over, Zelena was going to take herself and Baby Robin as far away from Storybrooke as they could get. They would start over together and have a life that was beneficial to both of them.

She rocked Baby Robin for a few moments before returning her to the crib. Pausing at the door, she looked back over her shoulder at the sleeping baby in the crib and smiled. She hoped that the happy memories of her daughter would help her to keep her cool when she returned to the craziness downstairs.

. . . . . . . .

Emma, Killian, and Charming were the only three left at the station as evening drew closer. Snow and Belle had gone to pick up Baby Neal from Blue's nursery and then home to start cooking dinner for everyone once again. Snow was insistent on Jekyll getting a home cooked meal at least once while in Storybrooke, so that meant that everyone had to come over for dinner. Henry had offered to show Dr. Jekyll around town so that he would feel familiar enough with the surroundings to come back on his own and explore.

The three of them were each focused on digging through paperwork and folders they had around the office. Emma had her nose in Henry's storybook when she heard Charming's phone buzzing on his desk, pulling her attention away from the book and back to reality. She quirked her brow as she looked over at him as he read the message.

He chuckled to himself before relaying the message to the rest of the room. "Apparently dinner will be ready in like five minutes if we can pull our noses out of the files to come and enjoy it."

Emma and Killian both laughed momentarily before closing the respective files they had been browsing through.

"Let's call it a night. We haven't found anything useful yet anyways and can't really do much until we hear from Regina," Emma said, slipping Henry's storybook into her bag as she gathered the rest of her things.

"Sounds good to me," Charming replied quickly. "Besides, I'm hungry."

"Then let's get out of here," Emma said happily. After pushing in the chair at her desk she walked over towards the door and waited for the others to finish gathering their stuff so that they could be on their way to delicious home cooked food.

Charming was the first one out the door and on his way down the street. Killian stopped in front of Emma momentarily and smiled at her.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked, playfully pushing his shoulder.

"Just you," he replied as he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips into hers. Emma melted into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him in close. Killian followed suit wrapping both of his arms around her waist.

Killian slid his tongue along her lower lip and smiled when she granted him permission to enter, her lips opening with a moan escaping her lips. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and picked her up briefly. After he set her back down, they broke the kiss and pressed their foreheads against each other.

Emma bit her lip and smiled. "We should probably be going."

"Aye, Dave's probably realized we aren't behind him anymore," Killian replied with a laugh. He placed a chaste kiss on her lips before offering her his hand which she took quickly and the pair were on their way out the door.

. . . . . . . .

As Snow was busying herself with the finishing touches on the meal, Baby Neal started crying in his nursery. She sighed to herself and set the towel down that she had in her hand. She started on her way to get him when Belle stopped her.

"I'll get him for you," she said with a smile.

"Oh, okay," Snow replied after a brief pause. "That would be great. He shouldn't fuss too long for you. He's pretty easy going."

Belle smiled and left to go get the young boy. With a smile, Snow returned her focus back to the food. It was nice having someone to talk about babies with and it would be nice for Baby Neal to have someone to play with when Belle's son was born.

"Hey grandma," Henry called as he and Jekyll walked into the apartment. "Mom and Hook here yet?"

"Not yet, but they should be on their way," she called back.

Belle walked in from the nursery carrying a smiling Neal in her arms. Every so often she would bounce him up and down on her hip, eliciting a giggle to bubble up through his little body. Henry laughed to himself as he walked over to say hello to his uncle, even if he was just a few years older than him.

Snow watched proudly from the kitchen as Henry talked with Belle and played with Neal. Jekyll had managed to make his way over to say hello to the baby as well. It was so cute to watch them all interact. It was as though the entire town was one big happy family always willing to help each other out whenever the need was present.

It brought joy to her heart when she thought about how much Henry loved Neal . It was almost as though he was treating him like the little brother he always dreamed of having. The thought was ever present in the back of her mind that maybe someday soon Henry would have a sibling of his very own after Emma and Killian got married. She couldn't wait to become a grandmother again. A new baby was always an exciting thing.

A few moments after Henry and Jekyll arrived, Charming came walking through the front door with Emma and Killian in tow. He walked straight to Snow and wrapped her up in a hug, kissing the top of her head.

"Sorry we're late," he mumbled into her head. "I had to get these two to get moving," he said, motioning at the couple with his head. Both of whom just laughed it off and hung up their coats.

"It was one kiss," Emma said, rolling her eyes as she walked over to greet Henry and say hello to her little brother.

"I don't want to know the details," Charming replied as a shiver ran down his spine. Snow playfully smacked him in the arm before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"You're the one that made a big deal about it," she laughed as she pulled away, turning back around to focus on dinner. "Besides, you are all here now and dinner's ready. Let's eat!"

Everyone took a seat around the table and enjoyed the delicious home cooked meal that Belle and Snow had prepared. The low roar of small talk flooding the whole room. It was the perfect image of a big family dinner.

Everyone was talking about their day. Henry and Snow were answering questions about school. Henry's questions were more focused on him and Violet which would cause him to blush uncontrollably and try to hide his face.

"Leave the poor boy alone," Hook chimed in when he saw Henry's face change to the brightest shade of red he had ever seen it turn. "It's his first girlfriend after all. Besides we haven't met the lass officially yet. No reason to use all of the good embarrassing material when she's not around."

Everyone burst out laughing and Henry slid further down in his seat in an attempt to hide under the table. Even Baby Neal joined in the laugher for a little while with the biggest smile on his face.

Emma leaned down to Henry as he hid under the table.

"You alright?" she whispered in his ear. His only response was to shake his head furiously back and forth. She bit her lip to hold back a small chuckle as she placed a caring hand on his shoulder and squeezed tight. "It's alright, kid. Give 'em a few more minutes and they'll be picking on someone else."

She leaned back up in her seat and shook her head.

"Is he okay?" Snow whispered across the table.

Emma nodded her head up and down. "Yeah, he'll be fine. Just a bit embarrassed."

Snow shrugged and turned her attention to Baby Neal as she tried to get another smile out of the little man. He was being so cute and playful this evening.

"So where do we think Regina is tonight?" Charming asked eager to change the subject to avoid embarrassing poor Henry more than he already was.

"She didn't come back after we left?" Snow asked concerned, pausing in her play with Neal.

Emma shook her head. "I haven't heard from her since she left the station this afternoon. Although we didn't get a call that something had blown up, so I guess this afternoon went well. On our way home, I'll stop by or I'll give her a call later."

Henry slowly climbed back up from where he was hiding under the table. "I was planning on staying at her house tonight anyways. I can check on her and let you all know."

"That works for me," Killian said happily, slipping his arm around Emma's waist and squeezing tight.

She turned to look at him out of the corner of her eye and winked in his direction. An empty house for the evening meant that the two of them could have a well deserved relaxing night at home. No need to worry about the town going to hell and mass chaos erupting.

The mindless chitter chatter soon picked back up around the table. Belle and Snow were playing aimlessly with Baby Neal. Charming and Jekyll were having a discussion about something from the Enchanted Forest, Emma wasn't quite sure what. Killian had his arm wrapped around her waist and was watching her out or the corner of his eye. He was also keeping an eye on Henry who was playing with his phone.

"Texting Violet?" Emma asked him, poking him in the arm with her finger. Henry didn't respond other than nodding his head quickly. "Tell her I said hello then and I'll leave you alone."

Emma snuggled into Killian's body and rested her head on her shoulder. He placed his head on hers, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. A brief break from reality was just what everyone in Storybrooke needed. The peace was nice. It was only a matter of time until the peace was no more however.

. . . . . . . .

After making a quick dinner for herself, Regina gathered her stuff and headed upstairs. It had been a long day and all she really wanted to do was sit down and talk to Robin for a little while before drifting off to sleep. She could deal with the drama that was her sister and her worser half in the morning after she had given herself some time to sleep and think it over. If she came to the others without a course of action, then they would be less ready to jump up and help come to a solution. Especially after she had forgotten to tell them that she had seen the Evil Queen in Storybrooke.

She couldn't help it though. For all she knew that really wasn't the Evil Queen that she had seen. It could have been her imagination playing tricks on her, playing on her greatest fears. However, Henry had seen the Evil Queen the first time, so she couldn't deny what they had seen was real. Now she had heard the Evil Queen's voice which meant that this was now the reality they were living in. Now there was someone that could easily imitate her and fool her loved ones into believing she had gone back to her darker ways.

Regina shuddered at the thought and the horrendous images that were flashing through her mind. She was going to do something about the Evil Queen. She just needed to decide on what. Above all however, she needed to sleep. It had been a long exhausting day and if her racing thoughts were anything to go off of, she wasn't going to have an easy time getting to sleep tonight.

She shrugged the thoughts aside and fired up her laptop. Talking to Robin was the only thing that truly mattered to her right now and that's what she intended to spend the rest of her evening doing.

If only she had been able to come up with a way to bring his soul back into contact with his body. Then a curious thought crossed her mind.  _Maybe the Evil Queen has a way to save him._ She chuckled to herself as she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. There was no way that the Evil Queen would be willing to help her reach the happy ending she so desperately wanted.

**It'd be nice if you'd come out of your thoughts…**

Regina laughed aloud when she saw the message appear on her screen. He was always watching her, even when she happened to forget for a few moments. She smiled as she typed her response back to him.

I'm sorry. It's been a long day.

**I know...why didn't you confront Zelena?**

That was the question she had been asking herself since she turned and walked away from the farmhouse. She was furious with her sister, but she refused to let her emotions get the better of her. Her curiosity had been piqued when she heard Gold's voice, but it wasn't enough to force her to confront her sister.

**Regina?**

I'm not sure why I didn't confront her...I guess I chickened out.

Robin could sense that something greater was bothering her than just the fact that she didn't follow through with talking to Zelena. He wasn't sure whether or not he should push her for more information. The longer he watched her, the more cracks in her armor he could see. She was starting to succumb to the pressures that were surrounding her.

She was being pressured to find an answer to why his soul had remained behind when his body had moved on. She was dealing with the pressures that came with being the mayor of a town where the inhabitants were not entirely happy to be living somewhere rather than the Enchanted Forest, their home for so long. Not to mention the fact that she was raising a teenage son who was just stepping into the dating world all on her own without someone to come home to at the end of the day. Not that she was raising Henry completely alone, she had the support of Emma and Killian as well as the Charmings, but there were times that she was still the only one Henry came to.

There was nothing that Robin could do in his current condition to help her out however and that frustrated him to no end. All he wanted to do was hold her close and tell her that everything would be okay. Together they would work this out.

However, the remnant soul of a man would not be of any assistance tonight. Maybe he could reach out to someone else to find an answer that he hadn't been able to find with Regina. Perhaps he could hang around Zelena's house for a little while. It would give him the chance to see Baby Robin, and it would give them additional insight on the Evil Queen's plans.

**What if I hung out at Zelena's for a few days? Would that help?**

Regina just stared at her screen. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of the idea herself. They had the perfect trick up their sleeves the whole time and none of them had thought to use it to their advantage. Now maybe she could think the rest of the way through her completely unthought plan, but it would have to wait until morning because she needed to talk to Emma. However it could wait until morning. They all just needed an evening to themselves.

**Well? Would it help? I wish you'd quit getting lost in your thoughts...I can't read your mind.**

Yes that would help immensely. Sorry I keep getting sidetracked when I go to type...I miss you.

**I miss you too…**

Regina sighed to herself. "Soon we'll be together again," she whispered. Slouching down in her bed, she got comfy for the night before typing a response. This would have to work for now. They had no other options.

. . . . . . . .

Dinner had been eaten and the coffee drunk when the first yawn struck the Charming home. Henry stretched over his head and laughed as he lowered them. "I guess school was more tiring than I thought."

Everyone laughed a few moments before they all started yawning as well. Snow had already put Baby Neal to bed earlier. The rest of the family had spent most of the evening lounged out in the living room watching television and observing Henry and Dr. Jekyll compete in a game of Mousetrap. Emma and Henry had to explain the rules to everyone as the game went along. Killian had the most questions about the game, but his curiosity was endearing so Emma didn't mind answering his questions no matter how silly they were.

"I guess that means we should all be getting home," Emma said as she pushed herself up off the couch. She turned and extended a hand to Killian which he took happily. Once he was on his feet, he interlaced his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand with a soft smile on his face.

"Yeah, me too," Henry said, raising from the floor. "Jekyll, you're more than welcome to walk most of the way back with me if you'd like."

"I would like that, Henry. Thank you," he replied. "Snow, where should I put this game?"

"I'll take it," she said with a smile. She grabbed the box out of his hands and slipped it away before anyone else was able to move to put it away.

Emma and Killian started walking towards the door when she stopped suddenly and turned to Belle. "Belle, want to walk back with us?"

Belle nodded her and quickly walked over to the door, turning to face Snow once again. "Thank you for everything, Snow. Are we still on for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Yup! I'll meet you at Granny's," Snow said with a smile. "Thank you all for coming for dinner yet again. It's nice having a house full of people."

They all said their quick goodbyes before they all went their separate ways. The Charming household was eerily quiet once again. It was almost calming.

Upon closing the door after the last of their family had left, Snow walked over and wrapped her arms around Charming's waist. She snuggled in close to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He placed a few gentle kisses atop her head. When he stopped she looked up at him and smiled.

"I love you," she said, raising up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips softly into his. She felt him smile as he pressed back against her.

When she pulled away, he placed a gentle kiss on her nose. "I love you too."

She smiled and snuggled in close once more. "So what are we gonna do about the Evil Queen?"

"I'm not sure, but just like everything else we'll deal with it together," he said, kissing her lightly. "Let's go to bed."

. . . . . . . .

Henry and Jekyll walked towards Regina's house and went their separate ways upon reaching her front yard. They bid farewell and Henry quickly walked inside, dropping his stuff by the door before venturing upstairs to say hello.

"Mom?" he called, reaching the top of the stairs. He noticed the light was on in her bedroom, so he figured that would be the most likely place to find her.

"Henry, is that you?" she called, pushing her laptop aside as she got out of bed and stood in her doorway. She smiled when she saw him. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't think you should be alone tonight. You had a bit of a rough day. How'd it go at Zelena's?" he asked.

Regina sighed, "I didn't talk to her…"

"What do you mean?" Henry asked, crossing his arms over his chest and raising his brow. "What happened?"

"Zelena and the Evil Queen weren't alone when I got there. They had guests," Regina shrugged.

"Who?" he questioned.

"Mr. Gold and Mr. Hyde." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned up against the door frame.

"What were they doing there?" His brow was furrowed as he thought over the information she was telling him.

"I'm not sure. By the time I arrived, the Evil Queen had managed to upset Mr. Gold and he left in a cloud of smoke. Zelena sent Mr. Hyde home not long after that and then she and the Evil Queen argued for a few minutes," Regina explained, "but I didn't want to confront them without a plan. I figured it would end poorly if I went up against them all alone."

"I wonder what Gold was doing there…" Henry pondered aloud but then shook his head to push the thoughts aside, "But you're doing alright?"

Regina smiled, "Yes, Henry. I'm fine."

"Okay good," Henry replied. "Alright, well I have school in the morning so I'm off to bed. Night, Mom."

"Good night, Henry," Regina called, returning to the warmth and comfort of her bed. Her conversation with Robin helped to lull her into a peaceful sleep.

Henry curled up, sending a few more messages back and forth with Violet before bidding farewell.

. . . . . . .

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with us tonight, Belle?" Emma asked upon their arrival at the docks. "It's really no trouble. There's plenty of room."

"No, no. I'll be fine here," Belle insisted with a smile on her face. "You two deserve a night to yourselves. It's been a long day and we all just want to call it a night."

Emma sighed and nodded her head understandingly. She stepped forward and gave her a hug. "Just give me a call if you need anything. Okay?"

Belle laughed, nodding her head up and down. "You know I will. "You know, every day you're here you become more and more like your mother. She offered the same thing to me before we left."

Killian snorted before wrapping Belle in a one armed hug and kissed her lightly on the head. "Now you've gone and ruined all the fun. I hadn't told her that tidbit of information yet."

Emma stuck her tongue out at Killian and hit him playfully on the shoulder. He faked pain and laughed before releasing Belle, taking Emma by the hand. Emma turned to Belle once more, "So I'll see you tomorrow at the library, right?"

"Yup," Belle said with a nod. "Thanks again for everything."

Emma smiled, "It's no big deal. Good night, Belle."

They bid their farewells and everyone was headed home to tuck in for the night. Everyone that was except for an angered Rumplestiltskin who was pacing the length of his shop and an even angrier Evil Queen who was pacing the length of Zelena's kitchen and muttering under her breath.


	19. Underlying Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey my darlings! I know I shouldn't keep apologizing for the delay in getting chapters out to you all, but sometimes it just takes longer than expected to get back to the story and get everything ready to go for the readers.
> 
> This chapter has lots going on as well as the upcoming chapters. I do hope you enjoy it!
> 
> This is self-betaed so all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Song Recommendations: Silence - Marshmello and A Different Way - DJ Snake and Lauv
> 
> If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author's page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I'm also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.
> 
> If you enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to drop a review! They all bring a smile to my face.
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

The blaring sound of a beeping alarm clock was the last thing Killian wanted to wake up to after crashing into bed last night. He couldn't recall what time he had fallen asleep, but the two of them finally made it to bed after midnight. With a groan, he rolled over to look at the time on the clock.

"Who the bloody hell set this thing for five am?" he grumbled, rubbing his eye gently with the butt of his hand.

Emma mumbled something incomprehensible into her pillow before flipping onto her back reaching to find Killian in the space beside her on the bed.

"What was that, love?" he asked, slamming his hand on alarm clock to make it stop beeping.

"I said, I don't know who the hell set it for five am, but turn it the hell off," she repeated, curling up on her side and resting her head on his chest, snuggling close to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned down, kissing her temple as he settled back down into the bed beneath her.

"Do you want me to set it for a little later?" he mumbled into her hair.

Her only response was the gentle nodding of her head against his chest as she drifted off to sleep. Killian chuckled to himself and reset set the alarm for an hour and a half later before allowing himself to drift back to sleep. Secretly he was hoping that Emma's sleep would remain a dreamless one. Neither of them had the energy to deal with the nightmares today.

It had appeared as though Emma's dreams were staying on the more positive side of things since coming clean started talking about them with someone. However, Killian was still insistent that she talked to Archie about them because she needed to talk to someone who could understand what was going on in her mind and causing the nightmares to occur.

She was hesitant about talking to Archie or anyone for that matter about the nightmares because she wanted to understand them herself first before she could even fathom explaining them. Not that she was having any luck on her own and as far as she was aware, Regina's research had been less than helpful as well.

When she wasn't having nightmares about her death, her dreams were vividly expressing the future she dreamed of having with Killian. They were dreams that she never thought she would be capable of having again. There was time when she envisioned having that dream life with Neal, but after he abandoned her in Portland, the dreams of a life with him left with him.

Any time she looked at Henry, she was reminded of the life she could have had with Neal. Seeing Henry made her regret giving him up at birth, but she knew that raising a baby in jail was not a viable option. She also knew at some point in his life, Henry would need his father or at least a father figure, and Emma couldn't give him that at the time. The longer she thought about it, the more she realized that she had done exactly what she had hoped to do for him in the first place. He was given his best chance, and now she was being offered her own. She had finally been able to find her Tallahassee even if it wasn't with Neal.

_Neal: He needs to know that in the end I was a good father. I saved this to give to you again. Take it. Go find Tallahassee, even if it's without me._

_Emma: Neal…_

_Neal: Hey, I'll be watching over you guys from somewhere. Promise me, promise me you'll both be happy._

_Emma: I promise. I promise._

She had found Tallahassee with Killian. Every time she thought about him, she smiled. Sleeping next to him every night made life better. He was the first person she saw when she woke up in the morning and the last person she saw at night before she went to sleep. He was her happiness. Her forever and always. She just hoped that he felt the same way about her.

That was why when she woke up to find the space next to her on the bed empty as the alarm went off, she was confused. Normally, she woke up before the alarm, not Killian.

Tossing the blankets aside, Emma crawled out of bed and pulled on one of his t-shirts from the dresser before making her way downstairs. She was pleasantly surprised when he nose was filled with the aroma of coffee and pancakes. However as she rounded the bottom of the stairs and made her way into the kitchen, she was even more surprised to discover her mom and dad standing inside with their backs to her preparing the delicious food she had smelled.

Looking down at her clothing choice, Emma spun on her heels and quickly ran back up the stairs. If she was about to sit down with her parents for breakfast, she was going to need tad bit more clothing covering her body than just Killian's shirt.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Killian walking into their room. She dashed in the behind him and closed the door. Leaning back against the closed door, she took a deep breath and scrubbed her hands over her face.

Killian turned around when he heard the door shut, relieved to see Emma standing behind him. With a smile, he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him. He pressed his lips to softly to her forehead before trailing a few kisses along the side of her face.

"Good morning, love. You look better in that shirt than I do," he whispered, continuing to place gentle kisses along her jawline and down her neck.

"Why didn't you tell me my parents were here?" she asked, tilting her head back slightly.

"You were sleeping and you looked so peaceful," he mumbled against her neck.

"You could have woke me up so I didn't go down stairs dressed like this," she said, untangling herself from his embrace, stepping aside and motioning at her clothing choice for the morning. The exasperated expression on her face brought a wicked smile to Killian's face as he tried to fight back a laugh.

"Did they see you?" he asked, quirking his brow and crossing her arms over his chest as he leaned against the door, watching her.

She shook her head furiously as she made her way towards the dresser on the opposite side of the room. "I ran back up here as soon as I realized they were here. I thought you were the one cooking."

She pulled out a pair of her pajama bottoms and one of her fitted t-shirts. Changing quickly, she looked in the mirror and readjusted her ponytail quickly. Once she decided that she looked decent enough for breakfast, she walked over to Killian. She smiled before pressing her lips to his gently for a brief moment. "Good morning. I'll see you downstairs."

Leaving him alone again, Emma quickly returned downstairs and braced herself to enter her kitchen. Painting a smile on her face, she walked inside and greeted both her parents with a quick hug before turning her attention to her baby brother sitting in his high chair.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of having breakfast served to me this morning?" she asked, lifting him out of the high chair and bounced him up and down for a few moments.

"Can't a father just do something nice for his daughter and her boyfriend?" Charming asked innocently, flipping the pancake over in the pan.

"I won't say no to pancakes," Killian said, entering the kitchen. He was wearing a similar outfit to the one that Emma had chosen to wear. He winked at Emma as he walked past to say hello to the cooks that were hard at work in his kitchen.

"I'm not complaining either, just curious," Emma replied with a shrug as she tickled Neal momentarily before placing him back in the seat.

"We just thought it would be nice to have most of the family together for breakfast. I take it Henry stayed at Regina's last night?" Snow inquired, placing the glasses of orange juice on the table.

Emma nodded. "Yeah, he texted me last night to let me know what's going on. Apparently Regina didn't talk to Zelena yesterday like she planned. I'll have to go talk to her later. Get all the details straight, ya know?"

"I wonder why she backed off of her plan," Charming mumbled as he placed the last of the pancakes on the plate to his left.

"Unfortunately Henry's texts were lacking in detail," Emma laughed, glancing over at Neal in the high chair when a thought crossed her mind. "Did you bring the high chair with you?"

"Maybe," Snow replied with a smile on her face. "How else were we going to be able to bring him over to visit for a meal?"

"Touché," Emma said.

She sat down next to Neal's high chair, and Killian sat down next to her. Snow sat opposite of them and Charming joined her. The small family enjoyed a delicious pancake breakfast together before everyone had to scatter off to work.

"Those were delicious, Dave," Killian said, finishing off his coffee and pushing away from the table to set the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

Snow cleaned up the rest of the dishes before bidding farewell to everyone and heading off to Granny's to meet Belle before she headed off to school to drop Neal off with her for the day. Second day back to school and she was meeting her co-teacher for the first time. The new inhabitants of Storybrooke needed jobs and the school was always looking for help.

Killian and Emma still had to get ready for the day, so Charming decided to take the high chair back to his apartment and told them he would meet them at the station.

"Race ya upstairs!" Emma called from the doorway to the kitchen before making a mad dash for the stairs. Killian laughed as he took off after her.

. . . . . . . .

"I'll see you later, Mom!" Henry called, walking out the front door. He left and quickly made his way over to Violet's. He had promised that he'd walk with her to school this morning and he didn't want to be late.

She was waiting for him on the front porch with a smile beaming bright on her face when he arrived. Henry laughed to himself when he saw her. Apparently she still wasn't quite ready to introduce him to her parents or she was more worried about him being interrogated by them. Either way he was grateful because it was nice still getting to know her and it gave them a chance to work things out as a couple before diving into the whole meeting the parents ordeal.

Henry definitely wasn't ready to throw anyone into the craziness that was his family. His loved his family more than anything, but they are not the easiest group of people to explain to a complete stranger. Actually he was waiting happily for the day that he got to meet a normal family without any strange twists and turns in the family tree.

Although in Storybrooke it seemed as though everyone was related in some way or another. Henry quickly shook the thought aside as he got closer to Violet's house. Not exactly what he wanted to be thinking when he went to kiss her good morning.

"Hey, Violet," he said happily, stopping at the bottom of the stairs in front of her house. She smiled at him and skipped down the steps quickly landing on the ground beside him.

"Hey you," she said, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "Ready to go?"

Henry nodded his head and extended her his hand so that the pair could walk to school together, talking mindlessly about their night and how the rest of the previous day had gone. It was nice to a see a smile on Violet's face as she talked. Henry knew there was nothing anyone could do to wipe the smile off his face when she was with him, so it was nice to know that he had the same effect on her.

. . . . . . . .

Arriving at the office, Regina sighed as she placed her bags down on her desk. She hadn't slept well. No matter how she tried laying, she managed to wake herself up every couple of hours trying to get comfortable yet again. When she had woken up to the blaring sound of her alarm clock, she discovered that part of the reason she was having trouble getting comfortable was that her laptop was still lying beside her. She had closed it before drifting off to sleep, but she hadn't moved it over to her bedside table.

It also didn't that her mind continued to race with thoughts about what the Evil Queen had planned and what exactly Rumpelstiltskin had at stake with the situation. No one crawled into bed with Rumplestiltskin without a deal in mind. She shook her head furiously to get all thoughts about bedding Rumplestiltskin out of her head because it was not an image that she wanted to think about.

 _Although, Belle didn't seem to have any issue sleeping with him..._ Regina thought to herself as she busied herself at the computer and getting things sorted to start her day. With the lack of sleep and a racing mind she wasn't off to a good start, but she was hoping to improve her mood and day before she left the office. She stared at the screen for a few minutes before she began searching through the folders on the computer looking for something very particular that she remembered putting together a few years back, for safe keepings of course.

. . . . . . . .

Emma and Killian were out the door and on their way to the station about an hour and a half after Charming had left their home. The quick shower that they were supposed to take separately became a lengthy shower together that resulted in them getting a little distracted. They walked hand in hand into town towards the station still debating back and forth who's pleasure it would be to explain to Charming why it was that they were running much later than anticipated.

"You get to tell him," Emma stated, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "I had to tell him the last time, so it's your turn."

"But it was your idea to take the shower together," Killian replied with a smirk. "Not that I'm complaining, but shouldn't the person who made the suggestion own up to the consequences?"

"No, no, no," Emma said, shaking her head. "It's just as much your fault as it is mine that we are late…"

"I didn't hear you complaining at the house," Killian said, raising his brow and squeezing her hand.

"Ugh," Emma sighed, tossing her head back momentarily. "But I don't want to tell him this time. It was awkward enough the first time."

Killian laughed, "Do you really think I want to have that awkward conversation with him?"

"No, but it's your turn!" Emma insisted as they arrived at the front door to the station. She turned to look at Killian and fluttered her eyelashes at him, begging him for the last time. "Please will you tell him? I'll do anything you want…"

Killian quirked his brow as a smile appeared on his face. "Anything?" he asked.

"Within reason," she replied quickly, realizing that his mind was capable of coming up with many things for her to do in repayment.

Killian thought about it for a few moments and then nodded his head. "Alright, I'll tell him. But you owe me big time."

"Thank you!" she said excitedly as she pressed up on her tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before pulling him inside.

Killian sighed internally and followed behind her willingly. It wasn't like he was ever really going to say no to her. He would do anything that she asked of him. That was how important she was to him. Everything that he had done in his life had led up to meeting her and he wouldn't change a thing.

Sure there were things in his past that he wished had never happened, but he wouldn't trade a single thing if meant that he wouldn't have gotten the chance to meet Emma and live out the rest of his life with her. He was becoming a different man than the gruff, lying pirate that he had been when she first met him. He had been changing since that first time they met. There was a small part of him that wanted to take her back to that beanstalk where they first met to propose to her, but she had made a life here and she was happy. He would do anything to make sure she stayed happy.

"Hey dad," he heard Emma say as they walked through the main door of the station, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Hey Emma. Hook. What took you so long? I left your house like an hour ago," Charming replied, looking up from the file on his desk.

"That would be my fault, Dave. Sorry about that," Killian told him as he hung up his jacket and walked over to the chair beside Emma's desk.

"Oh, okay," Charming said before turning his attention back to the folder in front of him.

Emma looked from Charming to Killian and back once again to Charming. It was never that easy for Charming to brush off their late arrival. Something was going on between the two of them and she was bound and determined to figure out what exactly it was. After she figured out what the plan was for today. They had a lot of work to do, but they didn't have a lot of leads to go off of.

"Something is going on here. I'm not sure what, but I'll figure it out," Emma warned as she reorganized the folders left out on her desk. "Normally telling you who's fault it is that we're late doesn't go that smoothly."

Charming and Killian looked at each other and shrugged. Then without telling her anything else, they went back to the task at hand of figuring out what it was that they were reading in the folders in front of them. Nothing had changed in the folders from what they had been reading yesterday. They weren't entirely sure why they thought that something may have changed, but hope seemed to be a recurring theme in Storybrooke so that's what they were relying on.

An hour or so had passed when Emma finally closed the folder in front of her and sighed before resting her head on the desk. Killian looked over at her quirking his brow. The concern for her becoming evident on his face.

"Love? Are you okay?" Killian asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. He chuckled to himself when he saw her head nod up and down against the wood. "Are you sure about that?"

Emma sighed again as she lifted her head back up. "Yes I'm fine. Just frustrated and tired of feeling like we are bashing our heads against the wall."

Killian gently squeezed her shoulder. "We'll figure something out. A lead has to come forward at some point."

"I'm gonna go talk to Regina. I need to figure out what the hell happened yesterday," Emma replied, pushing her chair away from the desk. Killian rose from his seat to go with her, but she shook her head. "By myself."

Killian quirked his brow as he plopped himself back down in the chair. "Did I do something wrong? Because if so I apologize…"

"You didn't do anything wrong. I just think that it will be easier to get Regina to talk to me about what's going on if I'm by myself," Emma said placing a soft hand on his shoulder. She leaned down and placed her lips softly against his for a moment. "I love you. I'll be back later."

She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. He closed his eyes as well and sighed. "I love you too. Text me if you need anything."

"Will do," she whispered and placed one more quick kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you later, Dad."

"Alright, Emma. See you later," Charming called as he lifted his head briefly from the file he was looking at.

Emma laughed to herself, kissed Killian one last time and was then out the door and on her way to Regina's office. She had a sneaking suspicion that her little chat this afternoon was not going to go well, but it was a chat she had to have.

They needed answers and they needed them soon. If Regina didn't have the confidence to confront the Evil Queen and Zelena, then Emma would march herself down and have the chat herself. There was no point in beating around the bush any longer.

"I found something!" Charming exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the desk.

It was a tad bit harder than he had planned because it was enough to send a jolt of pain reverberating through his hand and back up his arm. He shook his hand to shake the pain away.

"What did you find?" Killian asked quickly, crossing the station over to Charming's desk. "Your hand alright, mate?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine. But look at this," Charming said, pointing to the a box in the middle of the page. "Want to go check it out?"

"Aye, let's go," Killian said after he saw what Charming had found. Leaving a quick note for Emma in case she came back early, the pair were off on yet another Captain Charming adventure.

It was times like this that the two of them really missed having Robin around. It always seemed like the adventures were more fun when it was a group of three rather than a duo. Hopefully Regina and Emma would be able to come up with an answer to Robin's problem soon.

. . . . . . . .

A holy terror had already been released on Zelena's home by the time she had woken up. Instead of her alarm waking her up as was the plan, the screaming of her beautiful daughter had been her alarm. It was only a matter of seconds until Zelena was out of bed and down the hall to her daughter's bed side. When she walked into the room, she found the Evil Queen was standing over the crib glaring at the screaming child.

"What the bloody hell did you do to her?" Zelena shouted, reaching into the crib to comfort the baby. Within a few minutes, the ear shattering screams had dimmed to quiet crying. Zelena sighed as she reached into the crib to pick Robin up and began to rock her back and forth. "Well?"

"I didn't do anything. I just walked into the damn room because I was bored and it started crying," the Evil Queen scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away from Zelena.

"She," Zelena hissed as she held Robin close to her.

"What?" the Evil Queen asked, rolling her eyes and glancing back over her shoulder.

"My  _daughter_ is a she, not an it," Zelena stated cooly. "Maybe you should find some place else to stay. I can't have you waking Baby Robin up by walking into her room every day."

"Where the hell would I stay? No one knows I'm here," the Evil Queen said, spinning around to look at Zelena and the child.

"And whose damn fault is that?" Zelena grumbled, rolling her eyes. Robin had drifted back off to sleep in her arms so she held her for a little while longer to make sure that she was asleep before setting her back down in the crib.

"Regina's. If she would have just left well enough alone we wouldn't be in this bloody mess," the Evil Queen hissed.

"So go stay with Regina," Zelena replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"I can't!" the Evil Queen yelled in a hushed tone, desperately trying not to rouse the baby from her slumber once again.

"Sounds like your own damn problem to deal with and not mine," Zelena grumbled, pushing past the Evil Queen and headed into the kitchen.

Robin couldn't believe the scene he was seeing in front of him. Someone actually willing to stand up to the Evil Queen. In fact, Zelena had managed to tell her a few things that he wished he could have told her himself.

As the two women argued, Robin decided it was time for him to see his daughter for the first time since he had technically died. He hadn't had the courage to make this journey yet. He knew that he needed to see her though. He also wanted to see Roland when he had the chance.

She was the spitting image of Roland when he was that age except with slightly more feminine features. She was so peaceful as she dreamed. He only wished that he could pick her up and hold her as she slept. For the time being, he would settle for just watching her sleep for now from beside the crib as he kept a keen ear on the conversation going on right behind him.

"I'm the only person that can keep you safe when I put my plan into action. Do you really think kicking me out now is the best thing for you and your daughter?" the Evil Queen warned.

"Don't you dare threaten my daughter's life. Your plan can only work so long as the Savior doesn't know you're here. How would you like it if I went to her and told her that you were alive? How would your plan work then?" Zelena insinuated, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"I would kill you before you got the chance," the Evil Queen quipped, walking to the opposite side of the table.

Zelena opened her mouth to say something else, but closed it almost immediately. She had already said enough to anger the Evil Queen and she wasn't too keen on doing too much more to upset her. The wrath of her power was more than what Zelena was ready to handle on her own. She wasn't ready to leave Baby Robin without a mother as well as a father.

She sighed a moment as she thought about Robin. There was a small piece of her that felt guilty for tricking him into impregnating her, but at the time it felt like she didn't have any other choice. She never would have been able to come back from the Enchanted Forest with Emma and Hook had she not transformed into Marian. It was for her own safety, or at least that's what she managed to convince herself.

"I knew you'd choose wisely," the Evil Queen mocked. "I'll be back later. Gold and Hyde should be coming by at some point today too."

With that said, she sashayed out of the room and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke from the hallway. Zelena sighed to herself as she stood from the table and walked back into the nursery over to the crib. She smiled down at her daugher. She was lucky to have her in her life. It made it a life worth living when no one else seemed to love her.

"I love you princess," she whispered before turning and walking out of the nursery and back to her bedroom. She could use a few more hours of sleep, especially if a team of villains were to be coming over to her house in a few hours. She hoped desperately that Baby Robin would allow her a few more hours of sleep before waking up to be fed.

Robin watched Zelena leave the room before turning his attention back to his daughter.  _Someday I'll be able to hold you again. I just know it,_ he thought to himself as he watched her sleep. He had a few hours to kill before he needed to worry about the antics of the Evil Queen, so he settled on watching Baby Robin for a few more hours.


	20. Problem After Problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And I'm back with a new chapter! This will be my first official update of 2018! How exciting!
> 
> My plan was to have this chapter out in December and then life got in the way. I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)
> 
> This is self-betaed so all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Song Recommendations: Secrets - P!nk; Revenge - P!nk
> 
> If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author's page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I'm also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.
> 
> If you enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to drop a review! They all bring a smile to my face.
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

Arriving at the Mayor's office, Emma paused for a moment taking a deep breath before walking inside. She wasn't certain what she was about to walk into, but she knew something was waiting for her. Hopefully after this, they'd have some answers. Shaking all negative thoughts aside, Emma pushed open the door and went to find Regina.

Regina's head was tilted down, flipping through a book in front of her looking for something. Emma had no idea what the book contained. All she could tell from where she happened to be standing was that the pages had symbols all over it. They looked to be relics of some sort.

"Hey Regina," Emma called. Her voice causing Regina to jump slightly. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. It was always nice to spook someone else rather than being the one to get spooked.

"Emma, when did you? How did you? How did I not hear you come in?" Regina asked in rapid fire succession. Her heart was racing from the scare, so she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"I got here about two minutes ago by walking in through the door. You didn't hear me come in because you've got your nose buried in a book," Emma quipped, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of Regina's desk. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back, crossing her right leg over her left. "So want to tell me why you didn't talk to Zelena yesterday?"

"Right to the point today. That's a first," Regina said with a laugh as she closed the book in front of her. Placing her fingers to her temples, she rubbed a few circles before resting her hands on the cover of the book. As she met Emma's watchful eye, Regina sighed before speaking. "I'm not sure why I didn't talk to her. When I got to the house and stormed up the stairs of her house, I heard more voices than just Zelena's and my own. And if I'm being honest, I just froze. I couldn't really do much of anything from that moment on until I returned home."

"Who else was there?" Emma asked concerned, uncrossing her legs and leaning forward to rest her arms in her lap.

"Gold and someone else with a relatively deep voice. My best guess is that Hyde was there, especially since we had that little chat with Jekyll yesterday. I thought that maybe one of them would say something kind of useful that I'd be able to come tell you all about, but I didn't get so lucky," Regain replied with a shrug.

"Why does she need Gold and Hyde? That doesn't make any sense for the way that she works. The Evil Queen does what she wants however the hell she wants. She doesn't take help from anyone," Emma contemplated aloud.

"I've been asking myself the same questions since I got home last night. Something else rather odd happened last night as well. When I went to leave Zelena's, I had every intention of coming back to the station, but instead of disappearing a cloud of smoke and arriving at the station, I arrived at my front door. Nothing like that has ever happened before, but it would seem as though that something is wrong with my magic," Regina said, looking down at her hands as she balled them into a fist before opening them again.

"Interesting. Maybe we should go talk to Gold and see what he can tell you about magic and when it acts up," Emma said, laughing slightly as she leaned back in the chair.

"That may be something I have to do if I can't figure it out on my own. Except for the fact that it would inform him that I was spying on them yesterday," Regina said rolling her eyes.

"What if we told him it was me?" Emma suggested. "We could say I was out practicing with transportation spells and something went wrong. It should work since I'm still learning how to use my magic properly."

"That might work. Although, I think we should hold off talking to him until we know what her plan is. When he left Zelena's house, he was rather pissed off about something that was said just before I arrived," Regina said shrugging her shoulders.

She could understand her desire to be hesitant in asking for information because his reputation, but none of them knew exactly what they were dealing with when it came to a person being split in half. As far as Emma was aware, Gold was the only other person in Storybrooke who had similar magical skills to herself and Regina. He had to know more about their magical powers than he had ever let on to before.

"Did Henry text you last night about me chickening out?" Regina asked curiously, leaning forward to rest her chin on the back of her hand, propping herself up on her elbows.

"Yeah, we were all worried about you," Emma admitted. "We thought we would have heard something from you by dinner time and when we didn't, we started to get concerned. I was going to stop by on my home last night, but Henry insisted I go home since he was staying the night last night anyways. Don't be mad at him for telling me though. He was only saving me the trip."

Regina shook her head, "Of course I'm not mad at him. I probably should have walked over to the station when I arrived at my front door, but I didn't want to disappoint everyone again. Like I had with the whole Evil Queen thing."

"We weren't disappointed!" Emma replied. "It was just a shock to the system. We were all under the impression that she was dead. I mean, Snow and I watched you crush her heart in New York."

"I don't know, tt just felt like everyone was a little cross with me for not coming forward with the information when it happened. I thought she was a figment of my imagination at first. Even when it felt like she was lurking around in the shadows, I thought it was my worst fears taking a physical form. Turns out it was just my evil side," Regina said with a laugh.

"At least you know what to be afraid of. I still have no idea who keeps lurking around in my dreams making me have these stupid visions," Emma said with a fake smile on her face.

"Have you had anymore visions recently?" Regina asked, furrowing her brow slightly.

Emma shook her head. "No. At least none that have woken me up in the middle of the night, which in turn wakes Killian up and he insists that I talk about it, even though I honestly have no idea what to make out of the damn things."

"What happens to you during these dreams? I know you've told me the short story. But I'm curious as to what keeps waking you up when you see it," Regina replied, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I see my death. I see Henry standing there, basically watching me die. I see Killian shielding his eyes even though Henry pushes his arm out of the way and makes a break to run towards me. Killian has to grab him and hold him to his chest so that he can't see the blood running out of the wound that ultimately takes my life.

"My parents come onto the scene not long after Killian turns Henry away. I see tears rolling down my mother's face as she watches me die and my dad cradling her head as he pulls her in tight to his chest. Then the last thing I see is darkness and I hear a voice laughing over me as they celebrate their victory," Emma mumbled, just barely able to hold back the tears she felt welling up in the corners of her eyes.

"Maybe you should talk to Archie about all of this. He might be able to tell you what's going on with you," Regina said, pushing herself up out of her chair and walked around to kneel beside the chair where Emma was sitting.

"That's what Killian keeps telling me to do. I'm not ready to tell anyone else. I haven't told my parents yet and I don't know that going to Archie before I go to them is the best idea," Emma replied.

Regina placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You need to do whatever is best for you, and I'll support whatever it is you decide to do. I really think you should talk to someone who has a bit more knowledge about dreams and visions than your boyfriend and I do though."

"I wish I understood what was going on with me before I even tried to explain it to someone who knows more about the workings of the mind than I do..." Emma said, her voice slowly trailing off. She shook her head rapidly, ridding herself of the images that had almost instantaneously appeared. "We can deal with my issues later. Let's focus on what the Evil Queen is planning and come up with a way to stop her."

Regina sighed reluctantly. She understood Emma's hesitation about the visions, that would make them real and something that she needed to deal with, which she obviously wasn't ready to deal with. However, that didn't stop her from mentally disagreeing with Ms. Swan's methods. Their disagreement on the matter was something they could deal with at a later time.

"Right, so what do you think we should do?" Regina asked, walking back to take a seat once again.

"We need to talk to Zelena or at the very least, we need to get inside her house to take a look around," Emma replied with a nod. She'd deal with the visions later when there wasn't a revenge-seeking witch running around her town.

"About that..." Regina said, pulling her chair in closer to the desk. Emma quirked her brow waiting for an answer. "Robin is actually there right now."

"You know, you could have led with that tidbit of information," Emma chuckled.

Regina laughed as well. "Yes I realize that now."

Emma tilted her head to the side as she thought about the situation for a few brief moments. "You didn't ask him to go over there did you?"

"No, he volunteered. I think he wanted a chance to see his daughter," Regina replied, shaking her head furiously back and forth. "He actually made the suggestion to me last night after I admitted to chickening out."

"I'm glad he offered. It might help us finally get ahead of them." Emma paused momentarily when a thought crossed her mind. "Wait, weren't you able to sense Robin's presence before he made himself known?"

"Yeah? Why does that matter?" Regina asked, a puzzled look taking over her face.

"If you could sense him, then don't you think that the Evil Queen can feel him too?" Emma said in a relatively calm voice.

"Shit…" Regina mumbled under her breath.

. . . . . . . .

Belle had arrived at Granny's a little earlier than she and Snow had agreed upon. She figured being early wouldn't hurt after getting a text from Snow inviting her to have pancakes at Emma and Hook's house. The text in and of itself had made her laugh because Snow felt so guilty for not talking Charming out of his invasion of his daughter's house this morning.

Not long after Belle had sat down in a booth, Snow came in the door with Baby Neal on one hip and his diaper bag on the other. He had the cutest little smile on his face.

"Hey Belle, I'm so sorry I'm late," she said, sliding into the booth opposite of her careful not to bump Neal up against the table.

"It's alright. I promise I don't mind," Belle replied, reaching a hand across the table to grab Neal's hand. "Hi Neal."

Neal giggled and squeezed Belle's finger causing her to smile broadly. "He is such a cutie."

Snow kissed the top of his head and bounced her knee up and down a few seconds. The bouncing motion brought a big smile to Neal's face as he started giggling uncontrollably. "Yeah, he really is. Are you sure you want to keep him today? I can still take him to Blue if you aren't sure," Snow said, beginning to ramble on slightly.

Belle shook her head furiously. "I am so sure I want to watch him today! He is the happiest little baby in the world and it'll give me a chance to practice for when my little one comes along." Belle replied, rubbing her hand over her stomach. "I also need to schedule the first of many doctor's appointments."

"I can go with you if you don't want to go alone. I'd actually like to see what a normal pregnancy in this realm is like, since neither of my pregnancies have been exactly normal," Snow said.

"Now that you mention it, it would be nice not to have to go through this alone. I wish that things were different with Rumple and we could raise this baby together. But after seeing my son, I know that Rumple is not the best person to help me raise him. I can do this on my own," Belle said, "for the sake of my son, I have to."

"You won't be alone, Belle," Snow assured her, "all of us will be here to help you however we can."

. . . . . . . .

Gold stood outside of Granny's in the front courtyard, watching Belle as she spoke with Snow and played with the Charming baby. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to fix whatever it was he had done to upset her. The deal with Hades was no more, so their child was not in danger of anyone, except for the Evil Queen if for some reason she decided to go back on her word about leaving his family alone. Although, why anyone would go against a deal with the Dark One was beyond him.

His fear, however, was that Belle wouldn't forgive him. She had made herself clear at the Temple of Morpheus and she had not made any effort to talk to him since then. In fact, she had done everything in her power to avoid speaking to him.

He knew that if he tried to approach her on the street, the Savior and her damn pirate would show up to protect her. Not that he had any reason to be worried about the Savior. Her magic was nothing compared to his own.

The words of his son were still haunting his every thought.  _His son_. He still couldn't believe he was saying those words. Gold knew the power of dream magic was very strong. It was quite possibly stronger than his own, but that was all he knew. He had never been exposed to it before stepping into the Temple, so he had no idea what could come of the dream. It was at times like this he could use the help of his bookworm.

He watched them for a little while longer before he realized that standing in the middle of town in the broad daylight was not the best idea. Especially since everyone who thought they were in charge of this town was looking for him to have a little chat. His encounter with Emma at the shop and his display of power at the census had definitely not helped his reputation in town. No one would be willing to help him in any way, especially now that Belle is no longer asleep and could tell them anything.

Hanging his head, Gold turned to walk back to his shop under the impression that he had not been spotted. Unfortunately, his viewing had not gone unnoticed. Belle had not seen him, but that just meant that Snow White had seen him instead, and honestly that concerned him more that Belle spying him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone moving outside the diner. All she managed to see was the back of his head, but it was enough to cause her worry.

"Just so you know," Snow began, reaching into her bag in search of her phone, "Gold was just outside. It looks like he is leaving, but he was there."

"What?" Belle shouted, whipping her head around to look out the window where she spotted the back of his head walking towards the shop. Quickly she turned back around with a panicked look on her face. "How long was there?"

"I'm not sure. I just noticed him when turned around to walk away. The movement caught my eye," Snow said, typing a hurried text off to Charming and Emma before slipping her phone into her bag.

Looking at the clock on the wall, she frowned when she realized the rooted through her bag for a more moments, pulling her keys out and handing them over to Belle. "Here," she said simply, "take these. You can hang out at my apartment. There's a shortcut out the back of Granny's over to the building. Gold'll never know you left."

"Are you sure?" Belle asked nervously. "I can just go back to the docks and you can drop Neal off at with the Blue Fairy."

Snow shook her head, "Yes I'm sure. I won't be dropping him off at Blue's, I want you to watch him today."

"Okay," Belle replied, nodding her head slowly as she took the keys from Snow.

"I need to get to school. I'll have my phone on me all day and Charming has his, so if you need anything call or text one of us. We'll get back to you as soon as we can," Snow told her. She reached over and brushed her thumb over his cheek and smiled. "I'll come see you soon, sweetheart."

"Thank you, Snow," Belle said with smile as she gathered the diaper bag and the few other various items from the booth.

. . . . . . . .

Killian and Charming began trekking through the forest surrounding Storybrooke in an attempt to find the blimp that Jekyll had been living in. They figured that the two of them might be able to find something lying around. They were fairly certain that while they were there the day prior, they had spotted a few other items that looked similar to the drawings in Henry's storybooks like the necklace that was safely tucked away at the Sheriff's station.

"It was right here," Charming insisted as the pair circled around yet another oak tree for the umpteenth time since entering the forest. "I swear this is where we were the other day."

"I don't think so, mate," Kilian replied, shaking his head. "I think we made a wrong turn back at the wishing well."

Charming stopped pacing and scrubbed his hand over his face then brushing it over the top of his head. Resting his hands on his hips, he sighed as he hung he head in defeat. "I think we're lost."

Killian tossed his head back as he laughed for a few brief moments before nodding his head slowly at Charming's realization. "Aye, I'd say we're rather lost. We should head back to town and start over. If we don't, I fear we may get even more lost than we are right now."

"We don't need to head back to town. We need to get back to the wishing well," Charming replied, shaking his head.

"Seriously, mate?" Killian asked, quirking his brow as he crossed his arms overs his chest. "We are lost somewhere in the middle of the woods that surround Storybrooke, and you want to back track to the wishing well. What if we make a wrong turn somewhere else along the way? Then we'd be twice as lost."

"What about the map thing on our phones?" Charming asked, fishing his phone out of his pocket.

"The what?" Killian asked, uncrossing his arms and slowly pulling his own phone out of his pocket as well.

Charming fussed with his phone a few minutes until he found what he was looking for and turned his phone towards Killian. "This thing," he said, pointing at an app on the screen.

Killian nodded as though he understood and Charming flipped the phone back around to make use of their discovery. However, instead of being met with helpful information like where they were expecting, a pop up notification informed them that app wouldn't not work due to a lack of cell service.

"What the hell does that mean?" Killian asked irately.

"It means we're lost and can't call for help," Charming said, hanging his head once again.

Killian dropped his phone on the ground as he threw his arms up in the air. "Then what bloody hell good does having this damn thing mean?"

"If you break that, Emma's going to have your head," Charming said, bending down to pick up Killian's phone. He let out a sigh as he straightened back up and handed the phone over to the temperamental pirate standing in front of him. "Maybe we should just head back the way we came."

"I told you that in the first place!" Killian yelled, snatching the phone out of Charming's hand and shoved it in his pocket. Killian turned abruptly and stormed off mumbling a series of phrases under his breath that would not be the best thing for his future father-in-law to hear.

If good old Dave would have just listened to him in the first place, they wouldn't be in this mess. He knew that they went the wrong way when passing the wishing well. The damn blimp was off to the left not the right.

"Hook! Wait up!" Charming called, rushing to catch up to him.

Killian sighed and stopped in his tracks, attempting to wait patiently for him to catch up. He took a few deep breaths to get his anger under control before he had to deal with Charming. He knew full well that it wouldn't be easy at this point, however.

Charming appeared at his side, taking a few deep breaths to catch his breath after the short jog he took to catch up. "Man, I'm out of shape," he huffed with a half smile gracing his face.

Killian fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Charming nodded in response and they were off, hoping to find a way back to town. Or at least a place that cell phone service was available. Not that Killian understood the whole cell service thing.

_Killian: Get down._

_Elsa: What is that thing?_

_Killian: It's a device for talking. I don't bloody know. I press the Emma button and she answers usually._

_Emma: Hey this is Emma. Leave a message._

_Killian: Why should I carry this ridiculous thing around if you're never there when I use it? We found the person who froze Marian. Get the west edge of the woods right away._

Killian still cursed the bloody talking device for not reaching Emma that day from time to time whenever he felt the cool chill, sending a shiver down his spine. Maybe if she had picked up her phone that day, she would have never turned dark and their entire lives from that point on would be different. However, that was a thought for another day. He and Charming needed to get out of the woods so that he could get home to his beloved.

. . . . . . . .

Gold continued to stare out the window in the direction of Granny's. He desperately hoped she would leave the diner and come waltzing back into his shop, forgiving him for everything he had done over the last few months. Realistically though, he knew that would not be the case.

"What the hell is she doing?" Gold hissed, turning away from the kitchen and stalking toward the back room. There was no sense in driving himself insane waiting to see her. He knew that the likelihood of her coming to see him was slim to none. He couldn't figure out why he was getting himself all worked up in knots.

"Probably hiding out from you," a sultry voice remarked from behind, freezing him in his tracks. He cursed himself for not altering the wards he had on the shop to trigger specifically when the Evil Queen appeared within a few feet of his shop.

"What do you want?" he hissed without turning to face her. There was no need to visibly acknowledge her presence. There was no denying who it was.

"You can't stay mad at me forever, Dark One," she cooed. "Afterall, I'm your favorite student. Isn't that right?"

"You're testing my patience, dearie," he spat as he turned to face her. "So I will repeat my question since you seem to be hard of hearing today. What do you want?"

The Evil Queen rolled her eyes and stepped closer to her teacher. An evil smile appeared on her face as his narrowed gaze met hers and he crossed his arms over his chest. "I just came to check in on you. Can't be too careful after someone just disappears from a meeting."

Gold scoffed, "I would barely call that a meeting. It seemed more like a gabfest between you and Zelena. You never even got to the point of your little scheme that required my presence."

"That's because you disappeared before I could," the Evil Queen replied sweetly, placing a soft hand against his chest.

Gold looked down at her hand and took a step back, shaking his head in disgust. "Keep your damn hands to yourself. I'm a married man and have no interest in the likes of you."

The Evil Queen tossed her head back with a laugh. "You're a married man whose wife wants absolutely nothing to do with you - "

"Watch your tongue, dearie," Gold said, extending his hand lifting the Evil Queen into the air by her neck. He enjoyed watching her struggle to breath. He smiled, teeth bared, as he watch her eyes roll back in her head.

She was trying to mock him and he planned to show her what real power was capable of. He tightened his grip a little more for a few moments before releasing her, allowing her to fall to the floor clutching at her neck as she breathed deeply. A desperate attempt to gain back the oxygen he had stolen from her.

Gold laughed, "Because that tongue is bound to get you killed someday. If not by me, then by someone else. I will be watching as it happens with a smile beaming brightly from my face."

She looked up at him with a solemn look upon her face as she rubbed her neck. "Do you really think Belle will take you back after everything you have done? She put herself under a damn sleeping curse to get away from you after you  _lied_ to everyone. Although that's what you do best, isn't it? Lying comes second nature to you," she spat.

"Get out," Gold said coldly, turning his back to her and stormed into the back room. She thought he had been pissed off before. Pissed off was an understatement at this point. He was out right enraged by her comments. There were no words left for him to say because only harm would come her way if he even attempted to look at her now. Harm that would push Belle and his child even further away from him. Harm that he did not want to inflict.

The Evil Queen slowly rose to her feet. She dusted off the front of her dress and shook her head. This was not supposed to end with him walking away from her. This was supposed to end with them plotting the end of the simple minded folk of Storybrooke.

The poor saps were living in a world created out of revenge and living on borrowed time. Revenge that had yet to be achieved. How stupid could her other half be that she let Snow White get away so many times? It was time to put an end to all the stupidity, but first she needed to gain her other half's trust. That way things would go exactly as she had planned.


	21. Blind Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: We are back with another chapter! Anyone who has picked up this story has realized that I have almost entirely re-written season 6 of the TV show we have all come to know and love. This story still holds a very hefty piece of my heart because it is the first story I have ever shared with anyone to read and also I love these characters very much.
> 
> This chapter is very unique in the work that I have put into it so that things could appear they way that they are meant to happen. My research from this chapter came from a website called Spells of Magic and it is where the incantation came from that appears towards the end of the chapter. Dark magic is coming to play in Storybrooke, but that's to be expected when the Evil Queen is lurking around.
> 
> This is self-betaed so all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Song Recommendations: Nobody Knows - P!nk; What Are You Waiting for? - Paradise Fears; Next to Me - Double or Nothing; Relapse - Divided by Friday
> 
> If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author's page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I'm also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.
> 
> Please let me know what you think! I'll try not to make you wait till the end of March for the next chapter!
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

Arriving in front Zelena's house in a puff of smoke, the Evil Queen stormed inside, hoping to find Zelena on the other side of the door so that they could figure out what their next move may be. However, she noticed that the house was silent, so she sat down at the table to wait for the green witch to return home.

Based on the simple fact that the house was so quiet, the Evil Queen assumed that Zelena was out somewhere with the small child she had come to care for. She shook her head in disgust at how motherly her sister had become.

There was no good reason for it. Regina would have taken the child had Robin not been killed. Zelena wasn't fit to be a mother. After all she wanted to take the Charmings' baby for her stupid time travel spell.

A stupid spell that only allowed her to come back to Storybrooke because the damn Savior thinks everyone deserves to be saved. Not everyone deserves to be saved.

The Evil Queen absentmindedly rubbed her neck where Gold had lifted her up in the air. She'd have bruises there soon. Luckily she could use magic to hide them. That was the last thing she felt like explaining to Zelena.

"Where the hell is she?" the Evil Queen mumbled to herself as she rose from her seat and began pacing the length of Zelena's kitchen. Mumbling incoherently under hear breath as she went.

. . . . . . . .

Regina and Emma were still trying to figure out what they were going to do about the Evil Queen when the came to the decision that it was time to talk to Zelena. She was their only visible connection to the Evil Queen at the moment because they weren't sure what the Evil Queen had in mind for Storybrooke. And if they were being honest with themselves, they didn't really want to find out.

"So what are we going to do if Zelena decides that we are worthy of hearing the truth about what she knows?" Emma asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Well, we have two options," Regina replied, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her desk. "We can tell her we know the truth and see if she'll be honest with us, but then she will more than likely get mad at us and go running to tell the Evil Queen what we know, resulting in us getting screwed over. Or we can play it stupid and let her come to us to do the right thing for once in her life. She may finally figure out that there is more to life than revenge."

Emma nodded her head slowly, rising from the chair she had been sitting in. "I think our best bet for right now is to play it stupid and let her come to us. She needs to see for herself that not everyone is out to get her and there are more people who believe in her. Especially since we all know that Hades is not exactly the most trustworthy source of false hope. I need to get back to the station though. I left Hook and Charming alone, so hopefully everything is still in one piece when I get back. Something weird was going on with them this morning."

"Good luck figuring that one out," Regina laughed. "I'll let you know if I come up with anything more."

Emma left Regina to her own devices as she headed back to the station. It was going to be a long afternoon if Killian and her dad were in cahoots behind her back about something. And she'd be damned if she didn't figure out exactly what they were up to.

Arriving at the station she found a note from Killian, instead of finding the two of them lounging around. According to the note, they took it upon themselves to follow a lead they had discovered in Henry's storybook.

"Great, they're galavanting around town," Emma mumbled to herself as she sat down at her desk and fired up her computer. She glanced over briefly at her phone as she contemplated giving Killian a call just to make sure they were both still alive, but she decided against it and turned her focus back to the computer.

. . . . . . . .

Arriving home with Baby Robin, Zelena sighed when she heard pacing footsteps coming from the opposite side of the door. Hanging her head, Zelena opened the door and mentally prepared herself for whatever mood the Evil Queen was currently in.

The house felt full of hostility as the door swung open. Instead of a pleasant greeting welcoming her home, Zelena was met with the snark of crotchety witch. "Where the hell have you been?"

Lifting Baby Robin up slightly, Zelena replied, "Picking up my daughter."

She looked at the Evil Queen for a few moment, cocking her head to the side as her eyes trailed from her face to her neck. That's when she noticed the red marks on either side of her neck. Zelena put Baby Robin in her high chair before stepping closer to the Evil Queen to examine them a bit closer. "What the hell happened to you?"

The Evil Queen brought her hand up to her neck, nervously rubbing the marks Zelena was now staring at. Rolling her eyes, the Evil Queen replied, "Something that wouldn't have happened had you not been picking up that thing."

Zelena bit her tongue, holding back a retort about having responsibilities and not being able to run off half-cocked like the Evil Queen had a tendency to do any time she pleased. Instead she took a deep breath and decided it was time to find out what exactly happened. " _Who_  left those marks?"

"Gold," the Evil Queen huffed, rolling her eyes. "I went to check in on him and ended up pissing him off a tad more. He's pining after that damn woman who wants nothing to do with him. Idiot."

She was shaking her head as she rolled her eyes at the thought. Why pine after her when there was someone standing right in front of him, willing to give him anything he wanted? It was a twisted sense of thinking that she was certain she would never understand. That might be because she had closed off her heart to love, regardless of what her other half may have done.

"He loves her," Zelena replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Let me guess, you told him she wanted nothing to do with him and he was wasting his time."

The Evil Queen shrugged and kicked her heel against the floor. "Well at least I told him the truth…"

Zelena rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms, gently putting a hand on each of her shoulders. "When will you figure out that sometimes the truth is not what you tell the Dark One? Typically its better for you to lie to him."

"I went to see him to make good on the deal I made with you, but I didn't get the chance to ask the questions I needed to before I managed to upset him," the Evil Queen admitted.

"Well, then let's go have a little talk with him," Zelena suggested picking Baby Robin up. "I just need to take her back to Blue and then we can go talk to him."

The Evil Queen nodded and before long the two disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. One hoping to make things better for her daughter and the other hoping not to die at the hand of the most powerful man in Storybrooke before getting the chance to get her final revenge on the ones who wronged her.

. . . . . . . .

"I cannot bloody believe you got us lost," Killian grumbled as they approached the line where the forest met town.

"It's not like I did it on purpose," Charming insisted, sighing internally in relief that they had found their way back to town.

There had been a few moments in their trek back to the edge of the forest that he had thought they got themselves very lost and were not going to make it back home. There was no denying that he and Hook had bonded over the last few months, but there were still times where the two of them were ready to rip each other's heads off. Charming smiled to himself as he thought about when he and Hook had officially began their bonding time, even if he still wasn't all that fond of the pirate.

_Charming: We shouldn't be here. I didn't -_

_Killian: No, no, no. You're right. You shouldn't be here. I realize that I haven't said it yet, but thank you. I didn't want Emma to do this, let alone drag everyone along._

_Charming: Hey, we made our own choices._

_Killian: Really? I didn't know you cared._

_Charming: Alright, I did it for Emma._

_Killian: Ah I figured._

_Charming: And I guess you've grown on me a bit._

_Killian: Well I tend to have that effect on people._

_Charming: Alright, don't push it._

Killian knew deep down he shouldn't be nearly as annoyed with with Dave as he was, but he couldn't help it. His good old friend decided to interrupt his usual morning routine with Emma causing them to be late into the station because if he was being honest with himself, Killian just couldn't keep his hand or his lips off Emma. Especially when invited to join her in the shower. That was quickly becoming his favorite way to start the morning.

Taking the last few steps out of the forest and back into a place that looked familiar, Killian let out a sigh of relief. For once he was happy to be in town with all the crazy people who were roaming about. It had to be better than remaining lost in the woods with his eventual father-in-law.

As they crossed into town, Charming's cell phone buzzed a few times in his pocket. Puzzled he pulled his phone out to see the messages he had missed while they were out of cell service.

 **Snow:** Gold showed up outside of Granny's. Belle is going to watch Neal at the apartment.

 **Snow:** Why aren't you responding? Is everything okay?

 **Snow:** Why do you even have a phone if you aren't going to answer it?

 **Snow:** I guess I'll talk to you when you get home.

Charming laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I should text my wife back and go home to check on my son. Apparently Gold showed up outside of Granny's this morning. Do you want to get Emma and see what he was up to?"

"Aye, go check on your boy," Killian nodded. "Emma should be back at the station by now. I'll see you later, mate."

Charming nodded and turned in the direction of his apartment. It would be nice to spend a little bit of time with his son before Snow was due home from work.

. . . . . . . .

Zelena and the Evil Queen stood outside of Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop for a few moments. Both of them lost in their own thoughts about what was waiting for them on the other side. Zelena was irritated she had been pulled away from her daughter yet again to handle an issue that should have already been handled. The Evil Queen's thoughts were drifting back and forth between her plans for revenge against Snow White and her fear of the Dark One and what he could really do to harm her, especially since he had already told her to get out of his shop once today.

"Ready?" Zelena asked after a few minutes. The Evil Queen nodded and the two entered the shop to chat with the grumpy old Dark One. "Dark One, we'd like to talk to you."

There was no response other than the scrapping of footsteps nearing them from the back room. Zelena stepped further into the shop, allowing the door to slam behind her and force the bell to ring signalling Gold there was someone waiting for him.

Zelena called out to him once again, but was met with deafening silence. However, the silence only lasted for a few brief seconds before the two of them were no longer alone in the shop.

"You don't heed warnings, do you dearie?" his voice snarled as he walked out from behind the curtain.

Zelena rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Always full of threats, Dark One. Don't you have anything better to do with your time?"

"Don't you start with me either. What the hell are you two doing here?" he hissed, pointing a finger in Zelena's general direction.

"You're up," Zelena mumbled, taking a step back as she turned to the Evil Queen. She had no idea why the two of them were here, but she was going to find out one way or another.

The Evil Queen sighed before stepping closer to him. A wicked smile played at the corner of her lips as Gold narrowed his gaze to meet her eyes.

"I need your help to make good on a deal I have made with Zelena," she admitted, kicking her heel against the floor of the shop.

"Why would I want to help you?" he growled. His eyes flitted between Zelena and the Evil Queen. He didn't help anyone make good on deals that weren't made directly with him.

"To ensure your  _beloved_ and your son's lives not be harmed when I take my revenge," the Evil Queen quipped, exhaling sharply in frustration. "Are you going to help us or not?"

Gold rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. The Evil Queen had already crossed a line once today when she had been here earlier, and now she was finely toeing a line she should not consider crossing. "Fine. What do you need my help with?"

The smile that had been playing at her lips grew into an outright grin when he agreed to help her."I'm very happy you decided to come to your senses."

Gold began to raise his hand to lift her once again, but Zelena stepped in between the two of them and turned her attention first to Gold. "Enough. She doesn't need any more bruises around her neck. I don't plan on standing here like a moron while you two fight this out like children."

Turning to the Evil Queen, she continued her onslaught of instilling her opinion. "And you," she began pushing a finger into the Evil Queen's shoulder, "quit irritating him on purpose. You are only making things worse for yourself. Just tell him your damn plan so that we can get on with this and I can get home to my daughter."

"Fine," the Evil Queen grumbled. "You need to step outside for a few minutes."

"What?" Zelena asked taken back by the statement she had just heard. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because I said so," the Evil Queen hissed, narrowing her gaze at her dim-witted sister.

"Fine," Zelena said, spinning on her heels and stormed out of the shop. "Call for me when I'm allowed to hear what the adults are whispering about."

Slamming the door behind her as she went, she stopped just on the other side of the door and crossed her arms as she waited impatiently for them to finish their little chat.

Gold raised his brow, slightly puzzled by the actions of the Evil Queen. "Why did you send her away?"

"Because she doesn't know all the details and I'd rather not share all of them with her just yet. She's too fragile."

"Well, I'm waiting."

"I told her there is a way to bring Robin back," the Evil Queen began. "Which is why I'm here. I can't find my book containing the Resurrection spell. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?"

"I might," Gold replied, coldly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "But how do you expect the spell to work? His soul and his body need to be in the exact same place at the exact same time. And as far as I was made aware, Hades obliterated the man into nothing."

"His body was destroyed, but his soul remained. It has been hovering around Regina like a lost puppy dog," the Evil Queen sighed, rolling her eyes at the thought. "All I need is the spell and for my other half to bring his soul to the cemetery."

"How exactly to do you plan on doing that? You are the last person on earth Regina would want to see," Gold replied with a laugh.

"That's where Zelena comes in. I will explain everything to her  _after_ I have my spellbook," she huffed.

Gold rolled his eyes and stepped behind the counter that ran along the back wall of his shop, waving a hand over one of the cabinet doors. It popped open when he lowered his hand. Opening it a bit further, he revealed a collection of old, dust covered books. He selected the one she was looking for and pulled it out to show her. Turning the cover to face him, he blew the dust off the top in her general direction.

She glared, waving her hand in the cloud of dust. Gold snickered to himself momentarily. "Is this what you were looking for?" he asked, presenting the book to her.

"How long have you had it?" she questioned, taking the book from his hands and began flipping through the pages until she found the spell she wanted.

"Since the first curse. Now you have what you came from. I suggest you leave before you say something that may get yourself killed," he told her.

She nodded in agreement and turned to exit the shop quickly. She shook her head when she saw Zelena pouting with her arms crossed out in front of the shop. Without turning to look at Zelena, she smiled and whispered, "Let's go."

Almost immediately after that the two disappeared in a cloud of smoke before making their reappearance. The Evil Queen arrived back at the farm house first and a short while later Zelena appeared with her daughter. The pair went inside and began discussing the plans that needed to be put into place for everything to go accordingly.

The Evil Queen waited impatiently for Zelena to put Baby Robin down. She was pacing the kitchen when Zelena reappeared in the kitchen once again. The irritation on Zelena's face was enough to make the Evil Queen's frustrated demeanor lighten as a smile toyed at her lips. It looked like her sister was going to have a little temper tantrum of her own. The Evil Queen stopped her pacing and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for the tantrum to begin.

"I cannot believe you," Zelena hissed, storming past where the Evil Queen was standing toward the refrigerator where she pulled out a bottle of water for herself.

"Why not?" the Evil Queen mocked. She knew what the problem was, but the tantrum was rather enjoyable to watch. Especially as Zelena's face was beginning to take on a red hue rather than the jealous green look she had been sporting in patches on occasion since the Evil Queen's return.

"You know damn well why!" Zelena exclaimed, throwing her hands up above her head. "You sent me away like I was a damn child who wasn't allowed to know what the adults were talking about. You just  _had_ to bring me along only to ship me outside when you two started talking. So tell me what the hell was so damn important."

"I needed Gold's help to locate a spellbook that would help me to resurrect Robin from the dead," the Evil Queen explained after taking a deep breath to calm herself. She could feel her own irritation boiling up just below the surface.

"And I couldn't hear about that because?" Zelena asked.

"Because for any of this to work, his soul and body have to be in the same place," the Evil Queen growled. She still couldn't believe she was doing this. She wasn't one to do deals with people who have requirements for them to pay up on their part.

"What do you mean his soul? I thought his soul was gone too?" Zelena asked puzzled. From what she knew happened when a person was obliterated, everything was gone. She couldn't figure out what was going on with the Evil Queen, but something was definitely off with her.

The Evil Queen rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't know. You haven't talked to Regina lately, have you?"

Zelena shook her head. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had talked to Regina. It had to have been when they were transported to the Land of Untold Stories and even then the words exchanged were not friendly. She shuddered at the thought and had no interest in being reminded of that unfortunate day.

"His soul is still here. It's been hanging around my worser half since the day he died. It's pathetic honestly, but it's what he wants apparently."

Zelena was dumbstruck. Of all things Regina could have mentioned to her, one would think it would have crossed her mind to mention the soul of Baby Robin's father was hanging around. She couldn't understand why Robin wouldn't have at least come to visit his daughter, or maybe he had and she had no idea.

"No he hasn't been here to see the baby," the Evil Queen told her, "Honestly, why would he? You tricked him into having the thing."

"Her," Zelena growled.

"What?"

"My daughter is not a thing, she is a her and she has a name. I would prefer that you use it," Zelena said much louder than she had growled.

"Fine. Her. Happy?"

Zelena nodded. It was the least that the Queen could do. The baby was her niece after all. At least in some loose sense of the term.

"How do you expect me to get his soul here? Obviously he wants nothing to do with me and the baby because he hasn't shown up here yet."

"Get Regina to come here."

"How? We haven't talked in weeks."

"Figure it out. Or at least get her out to the cemetery. That way we don't have to disturb his grave to bring it here.".

With a huff and a wave of her hand, Zelena was gone. The Evil Queen cackled as she thought about what a victory this could be. She would be able to show Regina that had she not separated herself into halves, then she would have had the knowledge to do the reincarnation herself.

While she had the time, she needed to finish making the arrangements for the minor details that would need to be laid out while she recited the spell Rumple and Maleficent had come up with in the Enchanted Forest. They had created it in hopes of finding Lily. The issue was they didn't know where her soul was and could not locate a body.

This would be a huge step for the Evil Queen if this it works. It would mean she had something the other side did not. In a perfect world, she would have been able to bring back Daniel. However, his soul had already passed over into the light and they didn't live in a perfect world.

Luck was in their favor tonight because the spell required a full moon and Mother Nature was kind enough to give them exactly what they needed. Regina should be eternally grateful when all was said and done, even though the Evil Queen knew it would never happen. The biggest issue now would be convincing Regina to believe the spell would work. Zelena was playing along based on blind faith alone, but Regina would be ready to hex her into next year when she showed up at the cemetery and saw her standing by Robin's grave.

" _For thou who sleeps in stone and clay, heed this call, rise up and obey, trek on through the Mortal door, assemble flesh and walk once more,"_ she repeated in her head over and over again. She never spoke the spell out loud for fear of someone's spirit and body being present she was unaware of. They didn't really need anyone else coming back from the dead today. One was more than enough.

Checking the clock, she decided to head to the cemetery. She needed to gather the remaining ingredients and place them around the graveside. The Dark One had opted not to attend this evening's festivities because if something were to go terribly wrong, he needed to be as far as away as possible.

The Evil Queen couldn't deny she had been thinking the same thing when they were discussing the exact needs for the evening. Having that much dark magic around could be detrimental to their success. Her own magic along with Zelena's could be enough to cause some unforeseen problems.

. . . . . . . .

Zelena arrived outside of Regina's office door and suddenly nerves struck her. She had no idea what to say to this woman who was supposed to be her sister that she knew nothing about. That fact was becoming more and more apparent as Regina would do things without informing Zelena of what was going on.

The more she thought out it, the more she realized going in there right now would be doing the same thing to Regina that had been done to her by Regina and many others in Storybrooke. Now she was really in a dilemma.

Who does she show her loyalty to? Her sister who was willing to take her in after Robin's death even though she chose to go back to her farm house or to the Evil Queen who was more like her than Regina was?

She paced back and forth outside the door trying to make up her mind, ignoring the world around her as she walked. However, she was pulled away from her thoughts when the door opened from the other side and she was face to face with the woman she barely knew.

"Zelena," Regina said, surprised to find her sister waiting for her on the other side of the door. "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I was trying to figure out," Zelena replied, shrugging her shoulders nervously.

"Well, do you want to come in?" Regina asked, ushering her inside.

"Yes, thank you."

Zelena walked inside toward the couch by the fire. Her thoughts were running rampant as she took a seat quietly. She wasn't sure what to ask first. She didn't know if she wanted to know the truth about Robin before or after she admitted the truth behind what she was doing here.

Regina followed suit and took a seat on the chair beside the couch where Zelene appeared to be muttering to herself. She was curious if Zelena had any idea about her other half's arrival in Storybrooke. It was probable that she knew, but there was always the possibility that the Evil Queen was just hiding out in the shadows, waiting for her chance to jump on an unknowing subject.

"So, you were wondering what I was doing here," Zelena began. "But first I have a question to ask you?"

"Go on," Regina nodded. She could feel Robin's hand on her shoulder. He was doing his best to comfort her in the current state that he was in, even though he hated the fate he had been dealt.

"Is Robin's soul still here?"

The words were out of her mouth before she had really decided on what exactly she was going to say. Tact had never been Zelena's thing. She was the daughter her mother had abandoned after all, so she was used to having to get straight to the point when it came to dealing with people.

Regina sighed as felt the squeeze of Robin's hand assuring her to tell Zelena the truth. "Yes. His spirit has been with me since his death."

"How long have you known?"

"A few weeks."

"And you never thought to tell me?"

"Honestly? No, I never thought to tell you. You tricked him into sleeping you. He loves his daughter and I know it is killing him that he can't hold her. I don't know if he's gone to see her or not."

"According to the Evil Queen, he hasn't come into my cottage," Zelena scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Speaking of not sharing information…" Regina hissed as she glared at her sister, who had dropped her arms and sunk down in the couch with embarrassment.

"How long have you known about her?" she asked, looking intently at the floor hoping to avoid the fire of her glare.

"Since she appeared to my son and I the other night and informed me I can't get rid of her without getting rid of myself," Regina grumbled.

"Oh, yeah she came home bragging about that little adventure the other night."

"How long have you known she was here?"

"Since she came to town…" Zelena said, her voice trailing off as she ran a hand through her hair.

"And you never thought to warn us?" Regina yelled, but lowered her voice as she felt Robin's grasp on her shoulder tighten in an attempt to calm her down.

"I know, I know. I need to calm down," Regina grumbled under her breath hoping Zelena wouldn't hear, but alas had no such luck as Zelena raised her eyebrow before speaking.

"Who are you mumbling to?"

"Robin can hear us, but he can't talk to us verbally."

"Oh. Well I'm actually here about him, and your other half."

"What about him?"

"She has a way to bring him back."

"How does she have  _that_ information and I don't? We are two parts of the same person. Everything I know, she knows. Or so I'd like to believe."

"The Dark One may have reminded her," Zelena said, scratching her head. She wasn't sure how much more information about the Evil Queen's plan she should be telling Regina. After all, she had volunteered to be on the Evil Queen's side.

"She's working with Gold?" Regina exclaimed.

Zelena nodded and Regina threw her hands up in the air. If the plan she and Emma had agreed upon was going to work, then she needed to react in a way that would be considered normal without the previous information she had received from her spying mission, as well as Robin's little mission too. However finding out that Gold have given the Evil Queen a spell was new information she wasn't prepared for.

This was not good.

It's never good when Gold was on the wrong side of everyone else's goal. Regina was sure if he was on the Evil Queen's side, then she wasn't going to meet the Evil Queen alone. She knew she needed to take Emma with her.

"What's her plan to bring Robin back?" Regina asked innocently after a few brief moments of thought.

"She has someritual that Rumple and Maleficent came up with when Maleficent thought Lily was dead and she wanted to bring her back. However the flaw in their plan was that they didn't know where Lily's soul was and they didn't have a body to perform the ritual over," Zelena admitted.

"Where does she want me to meet her?"

"At Robin's grave. His soul and body have to be in the same place at the same time for everything to work apparently."

Regina nodded her head and pulled out her phone. She wasn't going into this alone. She needed back up. The more power she had in her corner, the safer she was.

"Who are you texting?" Zelena asked.

"Emma. I'm not going there without backup," Regina replied. She finished off her text and slid the phone back into her pocket.

"She's not going to like this."

"I don't care. Ready to go?"

Zelena nodded. This was better than leaving Baby Robin without anyone to take care of her. She didn't deserve a hard life just because her mother was not the kindest person.

. . . . . . . .

The light of her phone caught the corner of her eye. She glanced down, noticing that she had a new message from Regina. Puzzled by the odd time of the message, she picked up her phone and slid open the menu.

 **Regina** : Found a way to bring Robin back. Meet me at Henry's castle.

Almost immediately, Emma shut down her computer and gathered her belongings. She didn't need to ask anymore questions about the situation because she knew Regina would fill her in when she arrived. It appeared that time was of the essence.

As she was on her way out the door, she ran face first into Killian's chest. She hadn't expected someone to be on the other side of the door as she made her way out the door. Startled she took a step back and looked up at the person standing in her way. A smile appeared on her face when she spotted his concerned face looking down at her.

"Are you okay, love?" he asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Emma nodded quickly. "I'm fine, just a little shocked to be met with face to chest with someone on the other side of the door. How that lead pan out earlier?"

"It didn't," Killian said with a scowl on his face, but pushed the negative thoughts aside and focused his attention back to Emma. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Henry's castle. Regina found a way to bring Robin back apparently," Emma with a shrug. She wasn't entirely sure what it all meant. Placing a soft hand against his chest, she pressed up on her toes and pressed her lips into his. Breaking the kiss, she lowered herself back down and rested her forehead on his chest and scrunched her brow, "What do you mean it didn't? What happened?"

Killian laughed as she leaned away from him. "I mean Dave and I might have gotten lost on our way to the blimp this afternoon."

Emma quirked her brow at him and sighed. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not, but I'll tell you about it eventually," Killian said with a smirk. He kissed her forehead softly. "But you need to go meet Regina. Do you want me to come with you?"

Emma shook her head. "No, I'll be okay. But if that changes or I need back up, you'll be the first one I call." She kissed him once more before backing away. "I'll meet you at home?"

"Aye, love," Killian replied. She smiled and was on her way.


	22. Welcome Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey loves! So my plan for Camp NaNo next month is to actually work on this story again. I've taken about a year off of actively writing it because I have had so many chapters back logged. That being said, I'm not so sure I'll be able to get an update for this story out next month only because I'll be trying to write 50k in 30 days since I'm cray-cray.
> 
> I'll apologize right off the bat that this is self-betaed. This story is my baby and I've been editing it from the beginning.
> 
> This chapter is where all the excitement with Robin unfolds. I'm sad to hear that the show itself is going to be ending, but that's what fanfiction's for. Right?
> 
> Song Recs: Bring Me to Life - Evanescence, Home - Daughtry
> 
> Check me out on social media if you'd like. I'm a fun person!
> 
> Catch you next time!
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

"Where are we going? She's waiting for us at the cemetery," Zelena asked, following behind Regina reluctantly.

"Henry's castle. We need to talk to Emma before we deal with my worser half. She's not entirely aware of the whole situation with the Evil Queen," Regina admitted, shortening her gait as they arrived at the playground.

"You used to let Henry play here? It seems rather run down," Zelena huffed, disgusted at the sight before her.

"It wasn't so much I  _let_ him. It's where he used to sneak off to to meet Emma before the first curse was lifted," Regina replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Zelena nodded her head in understanding. "So he was doing anything he could to get away from you basically?"

Regina turned around to look at Zelena before speaking, a stern look on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't know what life was like here before the curse, okay? No, I wasn't the best mother to my son, and I am still trying to make up for the mistakes I made during that time. At least now, Henry has forgiven me and we have been able to look past it, so you have no right to judge my parenting skills."

There was more that she wanted to say, but now was not the time to hash out the resentment she felt regarding the father of Zelena's baby. They were trying to bring him home in one piece. No one needed to be distracted by pointless bickering that can't change the past.

Zelena put her hands up, signalling her surrender as she spoke. "Okay. Sorry. I was just making an observation."

Regina rolled her eyes, walking away from Zelena and took a seat on the steps of the castle. She watched with a smirk on her face as Zelena tried to decide whether or not it was safe to sit on for fear of it collapsing.

"It won't collapse," Regina sighed, scooting over slightly to make room for her. "I only deemed it unsafe because I wanted to take something away from Henry and Emma's relationship, causing it to falter, not that I was successful."

"Oh," Zelena responded, taking the seat that had been made available to her. The whole situation couldn't have been easy for Regina to talk about. The original curse wasn't one of her proudest moment. Zelena knew she held a lot of regrets about her actions from back then.

"Regina, what's going on?" Emma asked as she approached the castle, but stopped dead in her tracks when she realized who else was there. "Zelena. Hi."

 _Time to play stupid_ , she chuckled to herself.

"Emma," Zelena nodded.

"She's here to be helpful this time," Regina insured. "You might want to sit down. I've got a lot to tell you before I can explain why she's here."

"Okay," Emma replied, pretending to be confused as she listened to the tale Regina told. Hopefully their charade would fool Zelena and the Evil Queen as well in the end.

"So the Evil Queen didn't die in New York?" Emma repeated slowly.

Regina shook her head.

"But I watched her crumble to dust in front of me..." Emma contemplated aloud.

"It was an act. Something to throw us off of her case."

Hearing the story for a second time, Emma realized just how clueless that Zelena really was about the entire situation. She had barely been able to add small bits and pieces that Regina hadn't already informed her of prior to this meeting. It was new for all of them to see Zelena trying to be helpful and not take it as a potential trap. However, the utter cluelessness that she was exhibiting helped Emma to realize the truth.

"So let's go to the cemetery," Emma said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Are you sure?" Regina asked, furrowing her brow.

Emma nodded. "I made a promise to bring back the happy endings and if this is what it takes to bring your's back, then I say let's try it. There's not doubt in my mind that the Evil Queen is up to something, but at least this way we can bring our family back together. As messed up as it may be."

"Thank you, Emma."

"Let's go. She hates having to wait," Zelena chimed in, leading them towards the cemetery and away from the castle. She had no interest in dealing with the Evil Queen when she was in a good mood, let alone dealing with her when bad mood because she had been kept waiting.

Emma and Regina followed her quietly, mumbling about whether or not she was on their side or if she was just playing them to get exactly what she wanted.

. . . . . . . .

After a brisk walk filled with hushed conversations, the three of them arrived at Robin's grave. His spirit was following close behind, keeping a hand on both Emma and Regina's shoulders. He needed them to know he was here and he was not afraid of what was about to happen.

Good, bad, or otherwise. It was better than remaining a spirit who couldn't cross over, but also couldn't return home. It was causing everyone heartbreak.

He wanted to be able to hold Regina in his arms and kiss her. He wanted to be able to feel her arms around him. He wanted to be able to hold his son and play with him. He wanted to be able to go off with his band of merry men on an adventure for no reason at all.

Most importantly, he wanted to be able to hold his daugher. It was his greatest wish of all, next to holding Regina in his arms again. He barely got to know his daughter before he got taken away from her.

"There you are.  _Finally_ ," the Evil Queen huffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Oh. You brought the cavalry along I see."

"Look I got her here. Don't complain," Zelena hissed.

"Just hang around right here while I get things set up," the Evil Queen said, walking away from the three of them. She wasn't thrilled to have the Savior here, but someone who believed blindly, full of light magic would be beneficial to getting this ritual to work.

The Evil Queen set to work drawing the pentagram over Robin's grave. Everyone watched in absolute silence. The full moon was settled just above their heads.

Timing was the most important piece of the ritual, so she needed to get a move on. She had cast a protection spell before just moments before the others had joined her, just in case another spirit tried to take Robin's free trip home.

Once the drawing was complete, she called Regina over to stand closer to the grave site and hold the candle. With the snap of her fingers, the flame on the candle lit and the Evil Queen began her chanting.

" _For thou who sleeps in stone and clay, heed this call, rise up and obey, trek on through the Mortal door, assemble flesh and walk once more_."

Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind, but the flame didn't go out. It just flickered, remaining strong. Everyone standing there felt a jolt of energy through their bodies.

The grip on Regina's shoulder faded away as Robin's spirit flew backwards to meet his body in a crash collision.

A loud scream roared up from behind where they stood. Slowly, they turned around to meet the source of the sound. What they saw shocked them all and had caused Regina to break down into tears.

Robin was standing there in all his glory. A large smile on his face as his eyes met hers, finding saw happiness taking over her face. He started to walk towards her as she ran in his direction.

"Robin!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, spinning her around in circles before setting her back on solid ground.. He cupped her cheek and pulled her in for the kiss he had been longing to give her since he watched himself perish. As he deepened the kiss, he slid his hand around to caress the back of her head, wrapping his left arm tightly around her waist.

"It actually worked," Zelena muttered to herself. "I can't believe it actually worked."

Watching the scene from the side lines, the Evil Queen decided that it was time for her to make her leave. Unfortunately for her, Emma had keeping an eye on her out of the corner of her eye and when the Evil Queen started to sneak away she threw a vial of squid ink in her general direction.

"What the hell?" the Evil Queen hissed.

"Do you really think I'd let you get away just because you were able to bring Robin back to life?" Emma asked, a smirk beaming from her face as she placed the charmed cuffs around her wrists. "Once I found out you were in town, I figured my best bet would be to take you in before any more problems arose."

The Evil Queen grumbled under her breath, but she was no longer a threat. Her magic would be stifled with those cuffs. Once they got her back into town, the plan was for Regina to take her back to the hospital, locking her up in a magicless cell where she belonged.

Emma led the Evil Queen towards Robin and Regina. Regina smiled, looking back over her shoulder at the pair coming toward her.

"I'll take her," Regina said, letting go of Robin and took a hold of her other half giving Emma a chance to properly welcome Robin back to the world of the living.

"It's good to have you back," Emma said, giving him a quick hug."Killian will be so happy to have you back. I know he's missed you."

"I'm glad to be back," Robin replied. "And I can't wait to see my  _children_."

He sent a pleading look in Zelena's direction. A look that was met with a sigh and a nod.

"Come by the farmhouse this evening and you can see as much of her as you want," she replied.

"Thank you, Zelena."

"Let's get this witch some place where she can't cause any more trouble," Regina said, interlacing her fingers with Robin's.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan," Emma said.

Within a matter of moments, everyone had disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Regina, Emma, and Robin arrived at the hospital with the Evil Queen in tow. Zelena made her way back to the farmhouse to prepare for Robin's visit that evening.

"I'll send a message to everyone to us at Granny's. I think they'd all enjoy this surprise," Emma said with a smile, walking towards the diner. "I'll go ahead and get us the corner table, if you two would like a few minutes alone."

They both nodded and took off towards the Mayor's office. It was the only place in town they may have been able to get away from reality for a few brief moments.

. . . . . . . .

Henry read the text from Emma and turned to Violet with a smile on his face. "Want to come to Granny's with me to see my family? Apparently my mom has some big news."

"Which mom?" Violet laughed.

"Emma," he replied, pausing briefly to run a nervous hand through his hair. "Or is it  _too_ soon for you to hang out with my whole family?"

"I'd love to."

"Great! Let's go see if my Grandma wants to walk over there with us."

He took her hand and they walked over to Snow's classroom.

. . . . . . . .

While relaxing on the couch in their living room, Killian felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Spotting Emma's name on the screen, he smiled to himself as he flipped open the phone to read her message.

 **Emma:** Meet me at Granny's. Regina and I have a surprise.

"Must be something to do with Robin," Killian mumbled to himself, pushing himself up off the couch.

Donning his leather jacket he was soon on his way out the door and to Granny's. Impressively, it was only his first trip there of the day. Usually by now he had been there for two meals and a delicious cup of coffee.

. . . . . . . . .

Charming and Belle had spent the greater part of the afternoon talking idly as they played with Neal on the floor of the apartment. He was being giggly and full of smiles for both of them.

As they were playing, Charming felt his phone vibrate. His first assumption was that Snow was letting him know she was on her way home from school and wanted to check in. However, he was pleasantly surprised to see that rather than his wife texting him, it was his daughter.

"That's interesting," Charming said as he read the message. Belle drew her attention away from Neal momentarily and directed it to Charming, quirking her brow at his comment. "Apparently Emma and Regina have some kind of a surprise. They want me to meet them at Granny's. Would you like to come along?"

"Sure," Belle said, nodding her head. She turned her attention back to Neal, "Wanna go see Ma-ma?"

The response from Neal was bubbles and giggles as he smacked his hands against his legs. Belle and Charming laughed as they watched him.

"I take that as a yes," Charming chuckled, pushing himself up off the floor and offering a hand to Belle which she happily took as she rose from the ground.

He bent over and picked up Neal. Luckily the diaper bag was still packed from earlier since Belle had come back here, so the two of them were quickly out the door and on their way to Granny's.

. . . . . . . .

Once they were safely inside the Mayor's office, Regina quickly locked the door before wrapping her arms around Robin.

"I missed you so much," she whispered as she placed soft kisses on his lips.

"I missed you too," he replied, kissing her back each time her lips touched his. "I love you so much, Regina."

"I love you too."

Slowly they made their way over to the couch taking turns kissing each other. They paused momentarily when they arrived at the couch and sat down.

"How's Roland?" Robin asked.

Regina sighed as she thought about Roland. "He's been doing well. He misses you dearly. I've taken him to visit your grave a few times since you've been gone."

"I've missed him. When can we go see him?"

"As soon as we tell everyone else you are back."

Robin smiled and kissed her again. "Good. I can't wait to get my family back together. I want him to meet his little sister, too."

"We've got plenty of time," Regina said, leaning in to kiss him again. "We should be heading to Granny's soon though. Everyone will be there shortly."

"But we just got up here," he pouted.

"I know," she said with a frown, "but the sooner we go see everyone and get Roland, the sooner we can go to my house and off to bed."

She winked at him, resulting in a big smile appearing on his face. He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it softly.

"Let's go."

Regina laughed as she got up from the couch and s they walked towards the door.

"You know, there's enough room in my house for you and Roland to both live there with me," she hinted.

Robin stopped in his tracks and turning to look at her with a concerned look on his face. "Are you asking us to move in with you?"

The only answer Regina could give was to smile and nod her head. This was exactly what she wanted. She needed a house full of people and laugher.

It was great having Henry there on the nights that he did spend with her, but those nights were becoming few and far between. Having Robin and Roland there would make it really feel like a home, since they were already a small little family.

The more she thought about it, the more she was reminded about how much she and Robin had grown since their first meeting to when Hades took his final breath. Even when she was heartless, he still loved her all the same.

_Regina: What do you see in me?_

_Robin: Hopefully the same thing you see in me, a second chance. And you're quite a good kisser._

_Regina: Just wait till I actually have my heart back._

_Robin: What is that like? I mean can you -_

_Regina: Feel? Yes I can, just not fully. It's difficult to explain._

_Robin: Then don't. Use mine for the both of us._

Robin wrapped her up in his arms and held her close. He placed a few soft kisses on the top of her head. It had been far too long since he was able to hold her in his arms. There had been so many times in the last few weeks that he had watched her cry. He would have given anything up just to have that chance to hold her in his arms once again. From here on out, he wasn't planning on taking any of the chances he had been given for granted.

Regina nuzzled into his chest for a few moments. It was nice to be somewhere that felt like home. She couldn't wait to get him home so that they could make up for lost time. It was definitely overdue.

"As much as I would love to hang out here or at home for the rest of the evening, we really need to get going. I don't want them to send out a search party," Regina said with a laugh as she leaned back to look up at Robin. He smiled at her before pressing his lips against hers.

"I guess that means we should get going," he said, breaking the kiss.

. . . . . . . .

Arriving at Granny's, Emma was met with the smiling faces of her mother and her son as well as his girlfriend. It was a pleasant surprise for all. She hadn't seen Violet since they accidentally stumbled upon the young couple's date a few nights ago.

"Hey kid," she said, leaning down and wrapping an arm around his shoulder, squeezing lightly. "Hey mom. Hey Violet, how are you?"

"Hello, Sheriff Swan," Violet replied nervously. "I'm doing alright how are you?"

"Please, call me Emma. Sheriff Swan is  _way_ too formal," Emma said with a laugh. "I'm doing well. How about you, kid?"

Henry mumbled something incoherent under his breath as he let out a sigh.

Emma laughed and grabbed a chair from the table beside them. "Alright then. I'll ask again later."

She turned her attention to Violet and Snow as they chatted about their days. Henry seemed to ignore them as he focused on something invisible sitting on the table in front of them.

Emma questioned in her head if something was bothering him, but she wasn't going to be the one to embarrass him in front of his girlfriend. She decided she to keep a concerned eye on him though.

About fifteen minutes after Emma had arrived, Killian and Charming along with Belle and Neal came walking in from the back of the restaurant. Killian came over and placed a kiss on the top of Emma's head before pulling up the seat beside her. Charming did the same to Snow and Belle sat down beside him and passed Neal over to Snow.

They all chatted mindlessly as they waited for the big surprise Emma had alluded to, but wouldn't admit anything more about. Every time someone would ask her for more details, her response would be the same. They just had to wait until Regina got there, no matter how long it took to get from the office to Granny's.

Robin and Regina arrived in front of Granny's quite a bit later than they had originally intended. They hadn't been able to touch each other for weeks on end, so no one could really blame them for taking their sweet time getting over to Granny's.

Robin pulled Regina in close once more as they stood outside the door, far enough from the window so as not to ruin the surprise, but close enough so he could see the faces of everyone who had played a part in his resurrection. The same people who had taken care of Regina when he couldn't do it himself.

"I love you," he whispered, pressing his lips to hers. He smiled into the kiss as he felt her melt against him and wrap her arms around his waist.

"I love you too," she replied, pulling away from the kiss. "Wait here, okay?"

He nodded and kissed her on the forehead before she walked up the stairs to enter Granny's. She paused before opening the door and took a deep breath. For once she didn't have to plaster a smile on her face before bringing news to the people waiting on the other side of the door.

As she entered the shop, Emma was the first person to notice her. There was a confused look upon her face until she glanced out the window and spotted Robin. A smile quickly replaced it, which was noticed by Snow who turned to look at who had just come in the door.

"Hello, everyone," Regina said, walking up to the table. They all responded in kind patiently waiting for her to reveal the surprise. "So you are probably all wondering why Emma called you here and then me not to be with her when you got here."

They all nodded and Emma laughed momentarily. "Do you want me to-?" she asked, pointing at the door.

Regina nodded. "Yeah if you could."

"Okay," Emma said happily and slid her seat back to scoot past Killian. Once she was out from behind the table she was quickly out the door, motioning for someone to come forward.

"We caught the Evil Queen today," Regina stated, "but not without getting her help with something rather important.."

Regina turned to look at the door as Emma stepped aside, revealing Robin standing in the doorway.

The silence was deafening. No one knew what to say.

Honestly they were expecting one of them to bring the Evil Queen in with magic cuffs on her wrists or even Hyde with handcuffs on. No one was expecting Robin Hood to be standing in the doorway with a sheepish grin on his face.

Every single person in Granny's froze where they stood, everyone that was except for Granny. She had been in the back when Robin had come in the door.

"Why did it get so quiet in here?" she asked, backing into the main room. When she turned around, she dropped the tray of food that was in her hands.

"Well, I'll be damned," Granny said, breaking the silence that had taken over the room. "I can't believe my eyes. Welcome back, my boy."

With that being said, everyone else in Granny's seemed to go back to their own business. Charming, Snow, Belle, Henry, and Killian all walked over to where Robin was standing.

Hugs, smiles, and happy tears were shared all around.

After the emotions had settled down, they all sat down at the table to join in a full fledged family dinner for the first time in a long time. Something they all hoped would happen many more times in their lifetime.

. . . . . . . .

Meanwhile, over at the hospital, the Evil Queen was pacing the length of her cell mumbling incoherently to herself and cursing the name of every resident in Storybrooke. Someone was going to pay for this injustice. Someday she was going to break out of here.

"Mr. Gold you cannot-," the Evil Queen heard the Nurse exclaim only to be quieted as quickly as she spoke up again. She stopped her pacing and walked up to the small window on the door to her cell.

"Well, well, well," he hummed. "What we have here? A snake trapped in her cage. Exactly where she belongs."

"Get me out of here!" she yelled and pounded her hands against the door.

Gold laughed and turned to walk away from her. "Not a chance in hell, dearie. Better luck next time."


	23. Lost Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So this took a tad longer than expected to get this chapter ready. I'm so sorry it's been so long between updates for this story. Life has gotten a little out of control, but I'm trying to get my grips on everything that's going on right now. Hopefully the domestic fluff that appears in this chapter makes up for the time.
> 
> I'll apologize right off the bat that this is self-betaed. This story is my baby and I've been editing it from the beginning.
> 
> I run a group on facebook called the Storybrooke Cafe (18+) and it's a place for readers and writes of OUAT to hang out and discuss fanfiction for this loving fandom. Within the next week, I'll be releasing some fun and interesting things for those who write in the fandom and happen to in the group. Come check us out if you'd like to join in the fun!
> 
> Song Recs: Makin' Up For Lost Time - Gary Morris & Crystal Gayle; Try Everything - Shakira
> 
> Check me out on social media if you'd like. I'm a fun person!
> 
> Le me know what you think!
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

After such a happy homecoming, it was finally time for Robin to see his children. Regina went with him to Zelena's house before going to retrieve Roland. This would be a bit harder for him to understand than it would be for Baby Robin.

In fact, this evening would be the first time Roland would get to spend any real time with his little sister. The longer Robin thought about it, the more he began to realize that something needed to be done so that his children would know each other as they grew up. It wouldn't be fair to either child.

"What are you thinking about?" Regina asked as they approached the farmhouse, squeezing his hand gently.

"Roland and Robin," he replied.

Regina stepped in front of him placing a gentle hand on his chest as she dropped the hand she had been holding. Robin trailed his eyes from her hand along her arm until meeting her eyes. She searched his eyes for a sign as to how he was or what he was thinking about, but found nothing. Furrowing her brow, she tipped her head to the side. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think it's fair for them to grow up apart. Plus, I'm not looking forward to explaining why his mom isn't here anymore. It was hard enough to explain to him why we were leaving New York and coming back to Storybrooke.

"And how am I supposed to explain what happened to me? I watched him place an arrow on my casket. I watched him cry and grieve my loss at the funeral. It's just not fair to him, Regina," Robin said, carding a hand through his hair and sighing as he rubbed a hand over his face before laying it on Regina's arm.

Regina sighed and reached up to cup his face with her other hand. "I've already explained the Marian situation Roland. It wasn't easy."

Regina paused for a moment as she remembered his exact reaction to that particular piece of information. Roland had refused to talk to her for a few days after she told him. It took Henry having a little chat with him to get him to come back around to her.

She was still curious as to what Henry had told him that caused him to come around."When I go get him and bring him here, I'll talk to him about you being back. It may take some time for him to get used to it, but he'll understand and I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you."

Robin smiled and turned his head to kiss the hand on his cheek. "Thank you," he mumbled into her hand. "I love you."

"I love you too," Regina replied. "Alright, let's go before Zelena starts complaining that we kept Robin up past her bedtime."

Robin laughed and nodded his head. He took her hand in his and squeezed tight. "Let's go."

Zelena had been waiting for Regina and Robin to come up the stairs. "It's not like I don't have a baby to put to sleep or anything. What the hell are they doing?" she mumbled under her breath.

When she noticed them finally coming up, she quickly dashed away from the window before they spotted her lurking. After hearing their footsteps across the porch, she heard the faint knocking on the door.

"Coming!" Zelena called in an attempt to make it sound like she was coming from a different room. After a few exaggerated steps, she opened the front with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Come on in. What took you so long to get here?"

"Hello to you too, sis," Regina retorted. "It took a bit longer at the diner than anticipated. I actually have to pop back out. I'm going to go pick up Roland."

"Really? Isn't a little late for him to be awake?" Zelena asked, quirking her brow.

"His father just came back from the dead…" Regina began only to be cut off by Robin placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I know it's late, Zelena, but I'd like a chance to see both of my children tonight and it would be more efficient for everyone to have them both here," Robin explained and squeezed Regina's shoulder.

Zelena rolled her eyes and sighed. "I get that. Just next time you want to have a little family get together, can it not be at ten in the evening?"

Robin laughed. "I suppose we could try to do that. Can I see her now?"

Regina leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "I'll be back. I'm going to pop over to get Roland and will be back in a flash. I love you."

"I love you too," Robin replied, turning to kiss her on the cheek quickly.

Zelena rolled her eyes and held back the gagging sensation she could feel bubbling up in the back of her throat. "I'm going to go get Baby Robin. If you could quit the gag fest you have going on there, that would be just wonderful."

Regina laughed and then disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. The fastest way to travel in her opinion.

Robin smiled and shook his head as he walked over to the doorway that Zelena had disappeared into. He knew that it was Baby Robin's nursery from his mini spying mission before. Now he was just excited to hold his daughter in his arms again.

. . . . . . . .

Regina landed outside of Little John's cabin a few moments later. She dusted off the front of her dress before knocking on the door. She was hoping it wasn't too late and at least Little John was still awake. Although she knew she had brought Roland back this late after a few late night visits to Robin's grave when the poor boy couldn't sleep.

After a few moments, Little John answered the door. "Good evening, Madam Mayor. How can I help you tonight?"

"Little John, how many times do I have to ask you to call me Regina?" she said with a smile.

"Probably a few more times," Little John laughed. "Please come on in."

He ushered her inside out of the cold and she graciously accepted the offer and stepped into his humble abode. Roland was sitting at the table coloring a picture. He looked up when he heard Little John shutting the door.

"Regina!" he exclaimed, dropping the crayon on the table and jumping down out of the chair before running over and wrapping his arms around her knees squeezing tight. Regina smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"Hey Roland, how are you?" she asked when he finally released her and she was able to lower herself down to his level.

"I'm good, how are you?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her neck hugging her again.

Regina laughed a little bit as she wrapped her arms around his midsection. "I'm doing good. I actually have a surprise for you if you'd like to go on a little trip with me."

"I'll go grab my shoes!" Roland exclaimed, jumping up and down in Regina's arms for a few moments before running back to his room to find his shoes and a jacket.

Regina laughed as she straightened herself back up and smiled at Little John who had furrowed his brow at her.

"What's your surprise?" he asked.

"Robin's alive," Regina whispered. "I'm sure he will come to thank you for watching Roland tomorrow, but tonight he just wants to spend time with his children."

Little John smiled and asked excitedly, "He's really alive?"

The only response Regina could give was an excited nod because Roland had appeared with his shoes and his coat. A smile beaming brightly from his face.

"I'm ready to go!" he giggled, running over to stand beside Regina.

"Okay," she said, looking down at Roland with a smile before turning her attention to Little John. "I'll see you later, Little John."

"Good night, your majesty," he replied. "Good night, Roland."

"Good night!" Regina and Roland declared in unison and with the flick of her wrist the two disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke very similar to the one she had arrived in and within a matter of moments they were outside of Zelena's house.

Roland looked up at her and furrowed his brow. "What are we doing here?"

"Your surprise is inside, but I have to talk to you about something first," Regina replied.

The pair walked over to the steps and took a seat. Regina sighed before she turned to Roland and saw his smiling face beaming up at her. She couldn't help but smile back at him and wrap an arm around his shoulders. "I have something to tell you, but I'm not sure you're going to understand because even I don't understand it…"

As Regina was talking to Roland, Robin was walking around the kitchen with Baby Robin in his arms. Zelena was watching him from the doorway of the nursery with her arms crossed over her chest. She couldn't help thinking about how fatherly he looked carrying around the baby and how natural he was at it even though he hadn't gotten to spend that much time with her before his death.

There was a small part of her that wondered if anyone ever looked at her with Baby Robin and thought she looked like a natural with her. Although, she was sure no one would tell her the truth even if she did ask them point blank.

As Robin walked around the kitchen, he heard Regina's voice from the other side of the door. He walked over and peered out the window. He saw the woman he loved more than anything with her arm wrapped around his son, both of them with smiles playing at their lips. He didn't want to be separated from them anymore. He reached down and opened the door, carrying Baby Robin outside with him.

Zelena started to say something, but bit her tongue. She knew he needed this and she couldn't be the one to stop him. It wasn't fair to him. She had gotten to spend the last few months with this beautiful baby girl. His time with her had been cut very short and unfortunately, it was almost all her fault.

Maybe everyone else was right, she wasn't meant to be a mother. Hell, she couldn't even put her daughter first when it came to Hades. There were days she really missed that man no matter how badly he shattered her heart. Especially when it meant keeping her daughter away from her for Baby Robin's own safety.

_Regina: Do you want some company?_

_Zelena: How's my daughter?  
Regina: Safe. Hidden in the woods with Robin Hood. Hades will never find where they are._

_Zelena: He'll find her eventually. When he wants something he never gives up._

_Regina: And you know this how?  
Zelena: I don't want to talk about it._

_Regina: Zelena, for once in our lives, maybe we could just try acting like sisters. What happened between you and Hades?_

_Zelena: He fell in love with me._

_Regina: Oh._

_Zelena: I know it was totally ridiculous. The idea that anyone could love me…_

_Regina: Do you love him?_

The rest of that simple conversation with Regina was just one of many manipulative conversations the two of them had, but at the same time Zelena was grateful that Regina had been kind enough to allow her to raise Baby Robin. She knew there was no real reason for Regina to allow that to happen, other than she wanted to give Zelena the chance to be loved. She hoped that helping to bring Robin back from the dead was enough of a payment back on that favor. She was sure that no matter what happened to the Evil Queen, she'd need to ask for another favor someday soon.

Zelena walked up to the window to watch the interaction between a father and son torn apart by a death that came far too soon. She hoped it would warm her heart to see someone else so happy.

The door clicked shut behind him. He thought he was quiet enough and Roland hadn't heard the sound. However, the young lad's head turned towards Robin slightly and a large smile appeared on his face.

Regina noticed it and turned her head to see what he was looking at. A smile grew on her lips as she watch Roland jump up from where he was sitting and run over to where Robin was standing holding the baby.

"Dad!" Roland cheered excitedly as he wrapped his arms around Robin's legs.

Robin laughed and reached a hand down to touch Roland on the shoulder. "Hey, Roland."

He could feel tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. He had dreamt of this moment. Finally having his family all together.

Regina got up off the top step and walked over to where Robin and his kids were standing. She could feel tears welling up in her own eyes. She wrapped an arm around Robin's waist and placed a gentle hand on Baby Robin's back.

"I missed you, Dad," Roland said, looking up at Robin from where he stood. Regina leaned down to pick him up so that he could be a little closer to eye level with Robin and the baby.

"I missed you too, Roland. So much," he said, leaning over to kiss Roland on the side of his head. "Say hi to your little sister." He repositioned Robin so that she was facing him. She had a small smile on her face when she saw all the faces looking at her.

Roland reached over to touch Baby Robin's hand which resulted in her squirming in Robin's arms and start giggling a bit. Roland laughed and wiggled his finger against her hand a bit more until baby Robin grabbed a hold of his finger and held on tight. It was one of those moments that Regina wanted to catch on camera.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Zelena watching them through the window. She frowned internally before deciding that she should be here too. They were one big happy family after all. "Zelena," she mouthed, "Come here." She motioned with her head as well.

Zelena was shocked she had been invited outside to join them. She thought that would be considered interrupting family time and was something she didn't really want to do. "You beckoned?" she said sarcastically when she stepped outside.

"Could you take a picture of the four of us?" Regina asked, sliding her phone out of her jacket pocket and handing it over to her.

Zelena bit her tongue and took the phone. Now would not be a good time to yell at her sister. Especially not in front of the children. They could have a friendly little chat about this later.

She opened the camera app on Regina's phone and held the device up in front of her face. "One, two, three," Zelena said before snapping a few copies of the picture. She lowered the phone and handed it back to Regina. "Here."

She turned her attention to Robin. "Can I have my daughter back now?"

Robin sighed and nodded as he handed Baby Robin back to Zelena. "We should probably get going too. Roland, do you want to stay at Regina's tonight?" he said as he turned his attention back to Regina and Roland placing a hand around Regina's waist.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly shouting in Regina's ear. She leaned her head away slightly and laughed. At least he was happy and that was all that really mattered to her.

"Thanks again, Zelena," Robin said. He leaned in to place a soft kiss on baby Robin's cheek before turning back to Regina and Roland. "Let's go."

Regina nodded and the three of them disappeared in yet another cloud of purple smoke before arriving outside her home.  _Their_ home, she corrected herself mentally. She also made a mental note to tell Henry about her little change in living arrangements. Not that he would care. There was plenty of room for all of them to stay at the house. Besides he was living at Emma's house half the time anyways, so it shouldn't be much of an issue getting him on board with the whole idea.

"Welcome home," Regina whispered against Robin's cheek as she placed a soft kiss where her lips were touching.

Robin reached down and interlaced his fingers in hers squeezing tightly before the three of them walked in the front door of the house that would lead to the next chapter of the story of their lives.

. . . . . . . .

Emma and Killian had gotten home from the diner with Henry a little less than an hour earlier. The young lad hadn't taken his nose out of his phone since they had dropped Violet off at her parents house. Emma and Killian had walked a little further up the road away from her house so as not to be accused of spying on their good night kiss. Although they had definitely taken a peek or two as they waited for him to catch up.

As they walked, they had to make sure Henry didn't walk into a lamp post because he was too engrossed in his phone. That task seemed to be more difficult than they had anticipated. Especially when they were distracted by the sweet nothings being whispered to one another. It had been a very close call, but they managed to catch him before he could do any permanent damage to his face.

Once they arrived home, the three of them opted to hang out in front of the television for a while before heading off to bed. Well, Emma and Killian were watching television. Henry had barely looked up from his phone.

"You know, there's more to life than your phone," Emma said, throwing a pillow at Henry and landing it perfectly on his phone.

"Hey!" Henry whined, tossing the pillow back over at Emma. "I know there's more than my phone, but it's better than the daze I go into when I have the pen…"

Emma furrowed her brow and leaned forward in her seat, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Forget I said anything," Henry huffed, turning his attention back to his phone and tuning out anything else that Emma and Killian were planning to say.

"Hen-," Emma began, but stopped when Killian placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned her attention to him seeing him shaking his head.

Emma sighed and leaned back, placing her head on his chest. Just something else for her to worry about now. However, tonight she was going to bask in the happiness that surrounded them all day. Besides, it was only just a matter of time until the visions would steal her happiness away. She really needed to get a handle on those.

"Let's watch a movie," Killian said after a few moments to diffuse the tension that he could feel building up in the room. He felt Emma nodded her head against his chest and he was fairly certain he heard the incoherent mumble of a  _whatever_ coming from Henry on the other couch. "Emma, love. Could you pick one? Or I can see if I can figure out how to work the bloody remote..."

Emma laughed as she leaned forward to grab the remote off the table. She began scrolling through the channels looking for a movie, but was unsuccessful in finding one. "Netflix it is," she said with a laugh as she clicked the button to activate Netflix.

" _Zoo-to-p-ia_? What the bloody hell is that?" Killian asked as Emma got herself situated again. He placed his arm over her shoulders.

She couldn't help laughing at the way he said the name of the movie. "It'll be cute and mindless," she replied, nuzzling her head in closer to his chest. "Just be quiet and watch the movie."

Killian tilted his head down to look at her just as she turned her head up to look at him and stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and laughed before placing a few soft kisses on her forehead before she turned her attention back to the television screen. He smiled and placed one last kiss on top of her head and directed his attention to the screen.

It took all of about five minutes into the start of the movie for Henry to finally put his phone away and join in the family bonding that was going on. He had to bite his tongue to hold back the laughter as he listened to Hook's commentary about the film as they went along.

"Why the bloody hell is that rabbit talking?" Killian asked not long after the movie begun.

Emma bit her lip to hold back the laughter and took a deep breath. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "That's the fun part of Disney movies. Anyone and anything can talk," she said.

"That doesn't make any sense," Killian insisted.

Henry started laughing as well. "It's not supposed to make sense. It's just supposed to be family fun," he replied.

Killian rolled his eyes. "Also why does that bunny sound so familiar?"

Henry typed something into his phone and came up with an actress. "Judy Hopps is played by Ginnifer Goodwin. Have you seen any movies starring her?"

Emma shook her head. "The name sounds familiar, but I don't think I've seen anything starring her. She's got a soothing voice."

Killian laughed, "Yeah she does. I still don't understand what the appeal is to talking animals though."

"Just watch the movie," Emma said, placing a kiss on his cheek before snuggling back up against him and resting her head on his shoulder. She placed her right hand on his chest. She could feel the beating of his heart under the palm of her hand. That sensation was what helped her fall asleep at night, especially after the visions woke her in the middle.

Her solace was becoming the familiar sounds and feelings of being wrapped up in his arms throughout the night. Even when she would rouse from her slumber just because she was uncomfortable, she would quickly drift back to sleep because of the comfort she felt in his arms. She didn't know if he knew it or not, but he would kiss the top of her head in his sleep. He also liked to mumble sweet nothings into her hair when he thought she was asleep. Some things he would say were the sweetest words she had ever heard.

That was going to be her little secret though. Cuddled up with him was her favorite way to spend the evening. It seemed to make all the bad things seem to go away.

"I still don't understand the point of this movie…" Killian mumbled into the top of Emma's head before placing a gentle kiss where his lips had been touching.

Emma smiled and turned her head up to face him still smiling. She extended her neck slightly so that her lips pressed against his. She felt him smile into the kiss which caused her to smile too.

"What's so hard to understand?" Emma asked, breaking the kiss. "The rabbit is looking for the otter with the help of the fox that she is basically blackmailing."

"I don't understand why she needs to find the otter. He probably just got distracted by something shiny and wandered off," Killian chuckled.

Emma smacked him playfully in the chest and laughed. His comment about otters wasn't wrong, but it was a Disney movie after all. "Really, Killian?"

His only response was to smile proudly at his own wit. His wit and charm were two of his better qualities in his own opinion. Having dashing good looks helped him to get his way quite often as well. It helped that Emma found him devilishly handsome as well so he was able to get away with quite a bit with her, too. Like the little interaction between him and Dave earlier today at the station. He was quite certain he would have to deal with the backlash of that situation sooner or later, but for now he would take advantage of being able to hold her in his arms at peace.

Henry rolled his eyes at Emma and Hook as he fought the urge to pick his phone back up and text Violet. She made him promise to watch the movie with Emma and Hook instead of spending the entire evening on his phone.

The temptation of the phone was much harder to push aside than he initially anticipated. He kept peeking down at his phone out of the corner of his eye just to see if she had texted him while he was actually paying attention to the movie. For the most part his phone remained quiet. Part of him was disappointed at that discovery, but at the same time he knew she was right when she told him to spend more time with his family. Besides he'd be able to see her in the morning at school anyways.

A little while later as the credits were rolling up the screen, Emma attempted to stifle a yawn as she stretched her arms out to either side of her body, careful not to hit Killian. He too followed suit and stretched out his arms, especially the arm that had been holding Emma. At some point during the movie it had begun to go numb, but there was no way he was going to give up the chance to hold her close.

It didn't take long for the case of the yawns and stretches to move over to Henry before the three of them started laughing once they were done yawning. In fact, Henry was the first to break the silence. "I guess that means we should all go to bed.." he trailed off when he heard his phone buzzing on the couch beside him.

 **Mom (R):** In case you come over in the morning, I wanted you to know that Roland and Robin are here. Can we talk after school tomorrow?

Henry quickly texted Regina back and slipped his phone into his pocket. Emma quirked her brow and tipped her head to the side as she leaned forward about to get up off the couch.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"My mom," Henry replied as he pushed himself up off the couch.

"Everything okay?" Emma asked concerned looking up at him. She relaxed slightly when she felt Killian's hand against the small of her back.

Henry nodded. "She just wanted to let me know that Robin and Roland were staying at the house in case I stopped by in the morning. Plus she wants to talk to me after school."

"I wonder what that's about," Killian added, feeling slightly left out of the conversation.

"Probably to talk about Robin potentially moving in with her which would bring Roland along," Emma replied quickly.

"Yeah probably. She just doesn't want me to feel short changed," Henry remarked. "Alright, I'm gonna go get ready for bed. Night Mom. Night Hook."

With that Henry was on his way out of the living room and up the stairs to his room. That was the last Emma and Killian saw of him until breakfast that morning.

Emma collapsed back against the couch before turning to face Killian. She placed her right hand against his chest and leaned in to press her lips against his, slowly running her tongue along his lower lip. Killian leaned into the kiss and brushed his tongue gently against hers before slipping it in between her lips.

The simple gesture was greeted by a soft moan escaping her lips as she slid her hand up from his chest to his neck as she scooted closer to him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap so she was straddling him. She melted into his embrace and wrapped both her arms around his neck as she ground her hips into his lap.

Killian slid his hand down from her lower back to cup her ass as he raised his hips to meet her movements. She could feel his hardening length beneath her and a wicked grin formed on her lips as she increased the pressure with which she was pressing up against him.

Breaking the kiss, Emma rested her forehead against his and whispered his name in an airy voice. She lowered her hands from his neck to the buttons on his shirt. Her fingers played with them as she undid the first few.

"I wish Henry would have stayed at Regina's this evening…" she said in a low voice, "it's been far too long…"

She tilted her head to the side and began to trail kisses along his temple and down his jawline. She moved from his jaw to his ear and she nibbled the lobe gently before whispering a few more naughty phrases in his ear. After a few moments, she rose from his lap and placed her hands on his knees leaning down to meet him at eye level.

"Let's go to bed," she said with a smile before straightening herself back up and offering him a hand. He took it happily and allowed her to pull him up off the couch.

Hand in hand, the pair walked up the stairs and down the hall to the master suite.


	24. Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And I'm back with another chapter. When I first read over this chapter to begin my edits, I thought it could have used a bit more, but I think I like the way that it ends. We get to look at Jekyll and Hyde as well as have a wonderful Captain Swan moment to end the chapter. I'm beginning to run out of pre-written chapters, but I need to rewatch a few seasons before I can pick back up writing actively for this story.
> 
> I'll apologize right off the bat that this is self-betaed. This story is my baby and I've been editing it from the beginning.
> 
> I run a group on facebook called the Storybrooke Cafe (18+) and it's a place for readers and writes of OUAT to hang out and discuss fanfiction for this loving fandom. I'd love to see the group become more active, so please consider checking us out!
> 
> Song Recs: Reality - Kenny Chesney; Hey Jealousy - Hit the Lights
> 
> Check me out on social media if you'd like. I'm a fun person!
> 
> Le me know what you think!
> 
> Love always,  
> ~starr

The loud thud of pacing footsteps roused Jekyll from his slumber, not that he was sleeping deeply. He hadn't been since his alter ego was revealed to Emma and her friends. The same alter ego who was now keeping him awake with his pacing. Jekyll tossed the blankets aside and padded into the other room.

"What are you doing?" he asked stretching his arms to either side of his body before placing his glasses back on his face.

Hyde turned to look at him, pausing his pacing momentarily and then shook his head quickly while resuming his pacing. He refused to look at Jekyll as the scraggly man walked beside him to the counter on the other side of the room. Pacing back and forth a few more times, Hyde stopped dead in front of where Jekyll was standing. Jekyll's back was to him.

"Where is it?" Hyde growled, waiting impatiently for an answer.

Jekyll slowly turned around to face Hyde and furrowed his brow. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Where is what, Hyde?" Jekyll asked snidely. He knew what he was looking for.  _The necklace._  Truth be told, he had no idea where the damn thing had disappeared to and if he never saw the thing again it would be too soon.

"You know what I'm looking for," Hyde yelled, baring his teeth and lunging at his other half. He was not in the mood to play games. He needed that necklace so he could find his beloved and return to his land. He had no interest in Storybrooke. In fact, he only came here to look for her. The one he longed to be with. The one that Jekyll had taken away.

All he could remember was someone pulling him up off the ground and yelling at him to leave the flat as another person was rushing in past him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed what he believed to be a medical bag. However, he was pushed down the hall and basically told to piss off and not to return. Unfortunately that was a statement he was used to hearing especially from people in authority. Which was probably why he had paused his story once he was separated from Jekyll. From that point on, he swore he would find out what had happened to her.

"Honestly, Hyde. Do you really think I'd give it back to you after all this time?" Jekyll asked, narrowing his gaze stepping closer to Hyde filling the small gap that Hyde had originally left. He was no longer scared of this empty shell of a man standing in front of him.

Hyde narrowed his gaze at the small man with glasses in his way. He could pummel him into the ground with one easy swoop of his hand. However, doing that would only draw attention to himself. Unwanted attention that was not worth the headache he knew it would cause. The last thing he needed was that damn blonde woman nosing around again. That pirate and wannabe prince had already tried coming back here unwelcomed, and he had dealt with that issue. Although he was certain it would draw suspicion soon.

"It doesn't belong to you," Hyde replied.

Jekyll rolled his eyes. "How do you figure? We are the exact same person outside of our looks."

Hyde laughed, unconcerned with hurting the poor man's feelings. "Except I was able to bed Mary when you were not. She wanted nothing to do with her and that's why you brought harm to her. And instead of owning up to what you did, you waited until it was my turn to come out so the blame would fall to me. I was banished from the town. I never got to find out what happened to her…"

"She died," Jekyll spat, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for a smart retort from his alter ego. However, he was not granted that satisfaction.

Hyde faltered where he stood and crashed back against the table, bracing himself with one arm. It was as though he had been shot through the heart. He clasped a hand to his chest over his heart. It felt as though it had been ripped out of his body. A vital organ no longer in its place, slowly killing him as he fell to the floor.

Jekyll watched the whole ordeal without saying a word. He wouldn't not give Hyde the satisfaction of thinking that he cared for him. That man ruined his life. He had taken away everything that meant something to him.

Mary was everything he could have ever dreamed of having and now she was gone. It may have been at his own hands, but the world would never know that now would they? Especially if the only person to have figured it all out was dead. It was only a matter of time until Hyde's heart would give out. A broken heart would do such a thing to a man.

He couldn't have been more proud of himself for working out a deal with the Evil Queen before she had managed to get herself captured. Honestly how stupid could one be? Having her take his heart out was the best decision he had ever made since coming to Storybrooke and crossing paths with the witch. Soon he would be able to start over and his heart could be returned to his body.

He happened to glance across the room at the chest that housed his heart. Hyde caught sight of the movement and his eyes followed to the spot where Jekyll was looking.

"What's in the chest?" Hyde asked, pushing himself back up off the ground. He quickly brushed the dust off of his trousers before taking a step closer to the chest.

"Nothing you need to be concerned about. The pirate has the necklace. Or at least he's the one that found where I had planted it in the dirt after we landed," Jekyll said, tossing his head back laughing. "I can't believe it took you this long to ask for it. I was expecting you to go searching for it the second we crash landed. What exactly got you so distracted that you forgot about Mary?"

"Survival," Hyde growled as he lunged for the table where the chest was lying. However Jekyll beat him to the table swiping the box up and tucking it in his jacket.

"I just told you, the necklace isn't here!" Jekyll repeated. "Maybe you should go report it stolen to the Sheriff. I've heard she's been looking for you. I've been welcomed into their home and trusted as their friend. I've even bonded with her boy. What can you say for yourself? Do you really think they will trust you after you swore your destruction on their precious town?"

Hyde lunged for Jekyll who quickly jumped out of his way. Crashing into the counter, he straightened himself up and turned to Jekyll with a wicked smile on his face. "I've made friends with the Evil Queen and the Dark One. I have nothing to worry about in this town. My safety is secure in the Evil Queen."

"She got herself caught," Jekyll said gleefully. "She did something to gain the trust of Zelena and got herself arrested, so if you'd like to end up in an identical magicless cell with padding on the four walls, please keep lunging at me so I can tell my new friends where to find a beast."

Hyde contemplated his options now. He only had the reliance of the Dark One left and he knew from a previous experience that deals with the Dark One were never worth what they are meant to be. He had a choice to make now. It was only a matter of time until the truth was revealed and he hoped that he could make up for his mistakes before it was too late.

"I'll leave you to whatever it is you have planned Dr. Jekyll," Hyde said calmly as he walked away from the counter and toward the door. "You won't have to worry about hearing from me anymore."

With that Hyde was out the door and Jekyll hadn't moved from the place where he stood, flabbergasted by what had just happened in this very kitchen. Somehow he had won and made it out with his life. However, something didn't add up, but there was nothing he could truly do about it now. It was only a matter of time until the truth came out.

Soon the world would know. He just hoped to be dead and buried by the time the light had made its way to shine on the truth. At the rate he was going, that wasn't going to be a hard wish to achieve.

. . . . . . . .

Emma rolled over in her sleep for what felt like the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. Finally she flopped on her back and exhaled loudly. She turned her head to see if her motions had woken Killian from his sleep and she smiled when she noticed it hadn't. He was snoring away happily off in dream land.

She pushed herself up into a seated position to watch him sleep. He was a peaceful sleeper, unlike herself. She couldn't remember a time when his tossing and turning had woken her up in the middle of the night. Normally it was the other way around. She felt bad for how often it was her waking him in the middle of the night because she couldn't stop shaking after one of her nightmares. He was right, she really did need to go find someone to talk to about them. Maybe Archie wasn't a bad idea after all.

Slowly she slid out of bed and padded over to the en suite bathroom, one of the many things she really loved about this house. The biggest reason of all though was sharing it will Killian. She also enjoyed the fact that there was more than enough for Henry to live there too.

After splashing some water on her face, Emma left the room and walked down the hall and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She paused in front of the window by the sink and looked out. The sun was just getting ready to rise. Apparently she had gotten much more sleep than she had originally thought.

She looked at her cell phone laying on the counter and contemplated giving Archie a call to schedule an appointment. However, a quick glance at the time told her that she needed to wait a couple more hours before making that call.

Just because she was up at such an ungodly hour didn't mean that anyone else was wide awake now. Although he could have been up with Pongo, but she wasn't willing to take that chance just yet.

"Coffee first," she mumbled to herself as she walked over to the cupboard and began gathering the items she needed for that delightful life-giving substance that transformed her from a zombie-like state into a human.

The annoying sound of the alarm eventually roused Killian from his sleep and he reached over to Emma's side of the bed expecting to find her still curled up asleep. However, the bed was cold and the blankets were tossed back only covering him.  _Odd_ , he thought as he pushed the blankets off of him and got up out of bed.

It wasn't until he reached the hallway and his nose was filled with the delicious aroma of coffee that he realized where Emma had gone. He glanced down the hall and noticed that Henry's bedroom door was open, so he knew they were both downstairs.

He smiled and made his way downstairs to find them. He paused in the door when he noticed them sitting at the table just talking. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned up against the frame to watch them for a little while. From what he could over hear, they were talking about school and how Snow was adjusting to being back. Any time Violet's name came up, Henry's cheeks flushed. It was sweet to see the lad so shy about something. It was a really nice change of pace. Although what could be expected from the son of Baelfire and the Savior?

Killian decided he would wait to see how long it took for them to realize he was standing there, even though the coffee was calling him. This was something he had wanted for his whole life. A chance to observe his family with a smile on his face instead of him fearing for his life because his father was selling him and his brother off to settle his debts.

Any time he thought about Liam, he frowned and had to fight off the whirlwind of emotions that began to build up inside of him. He missed his brother so much. He would be willing to give anything to have his brother standing beside him when he and Emma said "I do." However, he was at peace at the same time because his brother had finally been able to move on.

_Killian: Liam, please hang on._

_Liam: I'm sorry brother. Can you forgive me for what I've done?  
Killian: Yes, but that's not what's important. You need to find a way to forgive yourself._

_Liam: I can't. Not after what I did to you. The only way for me to make amends is for me to pay the price._

_Killian: No. No!_

His brother had been willing to burn in hell to save Killian's soul. That was a debt he would never be able to repay, so he planned to spend every moment for the rest of his days being the man Liam knew he could be. He owed that much to his brother.

Emma slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder and noticed Killian standing in the doorway. She laughed to herself. He seemed lost in thought and she was starting wonder how long he had been standing there. She looked back at Henry and motioned with her head in Killian's direction. Henry looked up over her shoulder and smiled.

"Yeah, I was thinking about leaving Killian for August. I just like August's leather jacket so much better than Killian's," Emma said aloud as seriously as she could. Henry had to bite his lip to keep a straight face so as not to give anything away.

Killian's head snapped in the direction of Emma's voice when he heard what she had said and he uncrossed his arms before quickly crossing the kitchen over to the table.

"Good morning, love," he said, kissing Emma on the top of the head and walking over to grab a cup of coffee. After taking a sip of the coffee, he took a seat beside Emma and rested his hook on her lap. "So what were you two talking about just before I came in?"

"Oh, nothing really," Emma said, biting her lip. Henry started laughing quietly, but stifled all signs of laughter when Killian turned his head to look at him, quirking his brow.

"I thought I heard you say something about August. Is he back in town?" Killian asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. I haven't been by Geppetto's shop in a while. I'm sure he came back with everyone in last curse," Henry added.

It was Emma's turn to laugh now. She felt guilty for making Killian worry about their relationship, but that's what a person gets for spying on a conversation instead of coming in to say hello. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to Killian's cheek and whispered in his ear, "I was only teasing about preferring August's black leather to yours."

"What was that, love?" he asked turning to look at her.

"I noticed you dazed off in the doorway, so I decided to say something that I knew would get your attention," she said, giggling before pressing her lips to his briefly. "I love you."

Killian smiled and pressed his lips to her cheek for a few moments. "I love you too. That was a mean trick to play on a person you know."

"I would never leave you for August, I promise," she said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. She then turned her attention to Henry who was still laughing quietly to himself. "You find this whole thing funny, don't you?"

Henry nodded, "Yup. Especially since I saw Hook's face when it registered with him what you were saying. It was priceless."

Killian rolled his eyes. "It was not  _that_ funny."

Emma rubbed her hand across his back. "It's okay, Killian we all know you scare easy sometimes." She looked up at the clock on the wall and then turned her attention to Henry. "Hey kid, if you were planning to meet Violet before walking to school you might want to get a move on."

Henry looked back over his shoulder to check the time and nodded in agreement while getting up from his seat and placing his breakfast dishes in the sink. "Right. I will see you guys later."

"See you later. Tell Violet we said hello," Emma called as he walked out of the kitchen and out the front door.

With that they went from a small family of three to an intimate grouping of two. That was the first time in the last few days. It was definitely an opportunity they weren't going to miss out on.

As soon as she was certain that Henry was on his way to school, Emma turned her attention back to Killian and crashed her lips into his. Her tongue slipping between his lips when he went to say something. She brought her hand up to cup his cheek as their tongues slid against each other's fervently.

Killian brought his hand up to cup her cheek as he took control of the kiss. The hand on his cheek slid to find rest at the back of his neck. Her nimble fingers entangled themselves in his hair.

Emma broke the kiss as she rested her forehead against Killian's taking a deep breath. A wicked grin played at the corners of her lips. "That's a proper good morning kiss," she whispered.

Killian smiled and nodded his head. "Aye. Definitely a better way to say good morning than finding yourself alone in bed."

Emma sighed and leaned back in her seat, keeping her hand locked in the hair on the back of his head. "You just looked so peaceful. I didn't' want to disturbed you," she admitted, biting her lips.

Killian brushed his thumb along her lip to pull it back from her teeth. "First, this is mine to nibble on," he said with a wink. "Secondly, you could have woken me up. I wouldn't have minded."

"It was like an hour and a half before the alarm was set to go off. I wanted to let you sleep," she replied innocently batting her lashes at him.

Killian furrowed his brow. "Was everything alright? I didn't hear any of the normal signs of your nightmares…" His eyes grew wide with worry as he searched her face for some indication as to why she had woken up so early.

"Because I didn't have a nightmare last night...this morning I mean," Emma reassured. "I just couldn't get comfortable enough to drift back to sleep and I was impressed that my tossing and turning hadn't woken you up in the process."

"I didn't feel a thing. I was just really confused when I woke up and your side of the bed was cold," Killian said with a sigh of relief.

"That's because you snore and are out like a light once your head hits the pillow with your eyes closed. I'm impressed my nightmares are able to wake you up," Emma said, half laughing in order to keep the conversation light.

Killian frowned, which was exactly what Emma was trying to avoid. She lowered her hand from his head to his chest, right over his heart. "I'm fine, Killian. I even called Archie to schedule an appointment to talk about all of this."

Killian's eyes lit up slightly at the admission. "Really?" he asked.

Emma nodded her head. "Yup, in fact I need to go get ready to meet him in a little over an hour…"

"So soon?" Killian asked, pouting as he hung his head slightly.

"Mhmm," she said nodding, "But I do have a little bit of time. If you'd like to join me upstairs…"

She rose from her seat and walked slowly over to the doorway and glanced back over her shoulder. "Coming?" she asked.

Killian was quickly out of his seat and standing right behind her. He leaned in close and kissed her neck. "Let's go," he said enthusiastically, playfully slapping her ass and pushing her towards the stairs.

Emma rolled her eyes as she made her way to the stairs. As she stepped up onto the first one, she paused and turned back around to face Killian with a wicked grin on her face. She reached her hands out to cup his face as she lowered her lips to his, capturing them with a fierce intensity. Her tongue slid along the seam of his lips back and forth slowly waiting for him to part them ever so slightly so she could slip her tongue into the warmth of his mouth.

Killian took a step closer to her without breaking the kiss and wrapped his arms around Emma's waist as his lips opened just enough for her to nibble on his lower lip before he was able to slip his tongue into her mouth. He could feel her lips turn up into a smile against his. He lowered his hands down to cup her ass and picked her up off the step and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Instead of taking her up the stairs, he carried Emma into the living room and sat her down on the armrest of the couch. She kept her legs wrapped around his waist as she wove her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer to her. He began to trail kisses across her cheek and along her jawline until he began to descend down the length of her neck. Emma tipped her head back to allow him easier access.

"Killian…"Emma moaned breathily. The sensation of Killian's beard against her skin sent a shiver down her spine. She lowered her hands from his hair and trailed them down his chest until her fingertips began toying the hem of his shirt.

Slowly she began to tug his shirt up revealing his stomach and chest. He pulled away from her neck long enough to allow her to pull the shirt over his head. He wet his lips before crashing them back into hers roughly for a few moments before leaning back to pull her shirt up over her head.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that nothing more underneath the shirt when he finally got it over her head and tossed it aside. He placed a few soft kisses along her collarbone and then trailed kisses down the middle of her chest slowly dropping to his knees to rid her of her pajama bottoms. He tucked his hook inside the elastic. The metal felt cool against her heated skin, sending a shiver down her spine as he drug the fabric down her legs before tossing it aside.

She reached down and ran her fingers through his hair. She inhaled sharply as he trailed kisses up her leg as he worked his way back up to remove the last thin barrier separating him from her core. Before he was able to slip the fabric off, she slid her hands to the back of his head pulling him up to make his lips meet hers as her hands slid down his chest and slipped into the waist of his boxers and pajama pants and shoving them down off his waist allowing his hardening cock to spring free. As his clothing fell to the floor, she gently ghosted her fingertips along his thigh nearing his cock as she went. She wrapped her slender fingers around his shaft and brushed the tip of her thumb over the head trailing the precum along as she moved her thumb.

Killian looked deep into her eyes. His eyes filled with carnal desire as he crashed his lips into hers, forcing his tongue between her lips as he slipped the tip of his hook behind the lace of her panties and tearing them away in a swift motion tossing them on the ground with the rest of their discarded clothing. He growled into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to the edge of the armrest and gently brushed her hand away from his cock. His hand quickly replaced hers as he lined his swollen head up with her glistening slit and he slowly buried himself inside of her. Both of them moaning as he slid in as deep as he could get.

He wrapped his left arm around her waist pulling her closer as he began to pick up his pace as he lowered her onto the couch over the armrest. His right hand slipped between them and he used his pointer finger to trace small circles over her clit as he pumped in and out of her.

Breaking the kiss, Emma tossed her head back in pleasure as she made a strangled noise. Killian took the opportunity to lean in and place a few open kisses on her shoulder blade before biting down on the exposed skin. He then trailed kisses up her neck and started nibbling and tugging on her ear lobe.

"Fuck!" Emma exclaimed as Killian picked up the pace and began quickening the circles he was making on her clit. She arched her back and began to meet his movements with her own.

Words were tossed replaced with incoherent moans and the desperate panting for their breath as their bodies moved together. Soon the moaning became a mixture of swearing and the calling out of the others name. Both of them so close to the edge of a splintering orgasm. Killian sped up just a little bit more before both of them went tense as waves of electricity flooded through their bodies. Emma could feel the pulsing of Killian's cock inside her as her walls clenched around him.

Time seemed to stand still as they slowly began to catch their breath and their racing heartbeats returned to normal. Emma gently pressed her lips to Killian's as he rested his forehead against her momentarily before he slid out and stood from where they were on the couch. He extended a hand to help her and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

"That was amazing," he whispered in her ear, placing a few soft kisses on her neck and squeezing her gently.

Emma nodded. "It really was…" She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. She placed a few gentle kisses there before leaning back. "I need to go get ready for my appointment with Dr. Hopper and you need to get ready to head to the station."

Killian sighed. "Do I have to?"

Emma laughed and kissed him gently before slipping out of his reach. "Yes you do. You can join me in the shower though if you'd like."


End file.
